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Newkirk,  Matthew, 
The  memory  of  the  just  is 
blessed 


MEMORIAL. 


/f..//^).^'/6, 


THE  MEMORY  OF  THE  JUST  IS  BLESSED." 


A  MEMORIAL 


of  mjcfe 


OF 


J 


DEC  14  1911 


£6/CAL  seuv^- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


PREPARED    BY 


HIS  ONLY  SURVIVING  SON, 

MATTHEW    NEWKIRK,  Jr 


PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE  CIRCULATION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
CLAXTON,  REMSEN,  AND  HAFFELFINGER. 

819  AND  821   MARKET  STREET. 
1869. 


COLLINS,    PRINTER. 
705   JAYNE  ST. 


"And  I  heard  a  voice  from  Heaven,  saying  unto  me, 
WRITE, 
Blessed  are  the  dead,  which  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth : 
Yea- — saith  the  Spirit- 
That  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their 
works  do  follow  them." 


To 


MRS.  HETTY  MASKELL  NEWKIRK; 

who,   for  nearly  twenty-two  years,   was  the  devoted 

and  faithful  wife  of  the  subject  of 

this   memoir : 

dividing    his  sorrows — - 

increasing  his  joys — 

sharing  his  labors — 

encouraging  his  efforts — 

comforting  his   dying   moments: 

This  humble  tribute 

of 

FILIAL    GRATITUDE 

is 

most  respectfully  and  affectionately 

DEDICATED. 


A  NOTE 

EXPLANATORY  AND  INTRODUCTORY. 


At  the  suggestion  and  request  of  relatives  and  friends,  the 
work  of  collecting  incidents  and  facts  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Newkirk 
and  presenting  them  in  this  form  has  been  undertaken.  The 
object  is  not  to  exaggerate — not  to  place  an  undue  value  upon 
the  character  and  acts  of  the  deceased,  but  so  to  group  the 
striking  features,  and  so  to  present  the  prominent  efforts,  as  to 
encourage  and  stimulate  others,  and  magnify  the  grace  of  God 
which  enabled  him  to  be  so  faithful  and  earnest. 

This  little  volume  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  complete  and  ex- 
haustive history  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Newkirk.  It  is  simply  a 
tribute  of  filial  affection  made  from  the  treasures  of  a  memory 
filled  with  blessed  reminiscences,  and  supplemented  by  the  testi- 
monies of  those  who  knew  him  well  and  loved  him  fondly.  It 
is  the  memoir  of  one  who  introduced  religion  into  all  his  busi- 
ness, and  whose  living  and  dying  energies  were  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  Christ  in  His  Church.  No  one  can  wonder  that 
the  memory  of  such  a  life  is  cherished. 

The  memorialist  humbly  asks  the  indulgence  of  all  who  may 
herein  recognize  the  pen  of  an  admiring  and  grateful  son. 

Philadelphia  : 

1 300  Arch  Street, 

31  May,  1869. 


CONTENTS 


Baltimore  Railroad 


Memorial. 

Ancestral  history  of  Mr.  Matthew  Newkirk 

Early  life 

His  mother's  death  . 

Coming  to  Philadelphia     . 

As  a  soldier 

First  efforts  in  business 

Marriages 

Mercantile  life 

United  States  Bank   . 

Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and 

Coal  interests    . 

Iron  interests    . 

Financial  embarrassments 

Real  estate 

Educational 

Temperance 

Religious  life    . 

Last  illness 

Lines  by  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus, 

Funeral    .... 

Services  at  church     . 
Address  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Reed,  D.  D. 
Tribute  from  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  the  Fifth  Ave 

nue  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York  City 
Letters  of  Condolence. 

From  Rev.  W.  H.  Green,  D.  D.,  Prof,  in  Theolog 
cal  Seminary  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey  . 

From  Rev.  E.  P.  Humphrey,  D.  D.,  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky 

B 


D.  D 


LL 


D. 


PAGE 
17 
19 
20 
21 
21 
22 
23 

23 
26 
26 

32 

33 
35 
36 
38 
40 

44 

55 
60 
62 
^3 
65 

81 


85 


CONTENTS. 


From  Rev.  Theo.  Ledyard  Cuyler,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of 
La  Fayette  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  Brooklyn, 
New  York 

From  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  Allegheny 

Pennsylvania         ...... 

From  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  Stearns,  Newark,  New  Jersey 
From  Rev.  Dr.  James  Denham,  of  Londonderry,  Ire 

land      . 

From  Mrs.  Dr.  J .   ..... 

From  Rev.  J.  H.  Mcllvaine,  D.  D.,  Professor  in  the 

College  of  New  Jersey  ..... 
From  Rev.  D.  A.  Cunningham,  Pastor  of  the  Spring 

Garden  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia     . 
From  Rev.  Alfred  Cookman,  of  the  Methodist  Epis 

copal  Church         ...... 

From  Rev.  S.  B.   Barnitz,  Lutheran  Church,  Wheel 

ing,  West  Virginia         ..... 

Resolutions  of  Condolence. 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  sitting  in 
Albany,  New  York,  May,  1868      .         .         .         . 

Resolutions  of  the  Session  of  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Philadelphia  ..... 

Resolutions  of  the  Deacons  of  the  Central  Presbyte- 
rian Church  ........ 

Resolutions  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Central  Presbyte- 
rian Church  ....... 

Resolutions  of  the  Sanford  Sabbath  School  Associa- 
tion        

Resolutions  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church 

Resolutions  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Sabbath  School 
Association 

Resolutions  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Polytechnic  College 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ..... 

Resolutions  of  the  Trustees  and  Managers  of  the  Cam- 
den Home  for  Friendless  Children 


90 
92 

93 
95 

97 

99 

100 


107 
108 
no 
in 

IJ3 
115 

117 
118 


122 


MEMORIAL. 


The  personal  and  domestic  history  of  indi- 
viduals is  often  largely  traceable  to  the  family 
ancestry.  The  country  from  which  the  family 
has  come — the  language  spoken — the  circum- 
stances which  controlled  their  migration  to  this 
land — and  their  religious  faith,  are  found  more 
or  less  to  have  moulded  individual  character  and 
action. 

MR.  MATTHEW  NEWK1RK, 

the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  of  a  Huguenot 
family  from  the  south  of  Holland  and  the  north- 
ern provinces  of  France;  and,  as  is  well  known, 
the  cause  of  their  advent  to  this  new  country 
was  a  conscientious  and  unyielding  attachment 
to  the  Protestant  faith.  The  families  of  Du  Bois 
and  Van  Nieukierck  sailed  about  the  same  time, 
near  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  for 


I  8  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

this  country,  because  they  were  restricted  and 
persecuted  in  the  maintenance  of  their  religious 
views  and  worship.  They  became  intermingled 
by  marriages;  and  we  discover  in  the  genealogi- 
cal table  which  has  been  carefully  prepared  by 
some  members  of  one  branch,  that  the  great- 
granddaughter  of  Louis  and  Catherine  (Blancon) 
Du  Bois,  who  arrived  in  1660 — Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Garret  Newkirk,  the  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Matthew  Newkirk.  The  family  name  had  un- 
dergone some  change,  like  many  others  of  the 
same  nationality,  by  resid-ence  in  this  land,  and 
had  become  simplified  so  that  the  Holland  birth 
is  hardly  to  be  recognized  in  it  as  formerly. 
This  stern  and  earnest  preference  for  Protestant 
doctrine,  and  this  determination,  which  charac- 
terized the  Huguenots,  to  surrender  and  sacrifice 
everything  else  rather  than  it  has  left  its  impres- 
sion upon  the  family,  not  one  of  whom  has  as 
yet  erred  from  this  old  Reformed  faith.  If  we 
will  bear  in  mind  this  item  of  history  as  we 
review  the  life  of  an  honored  and  honorable 
member  of  this  large  family,  we  will  be  able  to 
explain  and  appreciate  a  Christian  character 
which  has  been  formed  under  pious  care. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


l9 


Matthew  Newkirk,  the  eighth  in  a  group  of 
nine  children  given  to  Cornelius  and  Abigail 
(Hanna)  Newkirk,  was  born  May  31,  1794,  in 
Pittsgrove,  Salem  County,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  named  after  a  brother  of  his  father,  and 
was  the  fourth  who  bore  the  same  Christian 
name.*  The  old  homestead,  which  was  a 
spacious  mansion,  is,  at  this  time,  standing  Sub- 
stantially unaltered,  owned  and  occupied  by  a 
member  of  the  family. 

EARLY  LIFE. 

As  his  parents  and  all  of  his  brothers  and 
sisters  are  now  dead,  we  have  no  sources  of 
information  concerning  his  boyhood.  Yet  the 
memory  of  his  surviving  relatives  recalls  many 
remarks  which  he  occasionally  made  in  refer- 
ence to  his  youthful  plans  and  efforts.  The 
little  leather-covered  trunk  in  which  he  saved 

*  There  remain  two  who  have  the  same  name — Mr.  Matthew 
Newkirk,  a  merchant  of  Newark,  Ohio,  son  of  Samuel  Newkirk, 
and  a  faithful  and  efficient  Ruling  Elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  that  place ;  and  the  writer,  a  Clergyman  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  settled  in  Philadelphia. 


20  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

his  earnings — the  improvement  of  his  time  in 
labor  while  other  boys  were  indulging  in  amuse- 
ments— his  desire  for  acquiring  general  and  use- 
ful information,  are  well  remembered. 

His  education  was  limited — being  confined  to 
such  instructions  as  could  be,  at  that  time, 
received  in  a  country  school,  and  to  such  seasons 
as  he  could  be  spared  by  his  father  from  farm 
work.  However,  it  is  well  known,  and  was  a 
matter  of  some  pride  with  him,  that  in  what 
he  considered  the  most  practical  and  needful 
branches  of  spelling,  reading,  and  writing,  he 
excelled  all  others  in  the  classes ;  nor  excelled 
without  great  effort,  because  there  were  many 
who  struggled  hard  to  gain  the  pre-eminence. 

HIS  MOTHER'S  DEATH. 

In  the  year  1802  he  suffered  that  irreparable 
loss,  the  death  of  his  mother.  He  was  only 
eight  years  of  age,  and  she  was  forty-five  years 
old.  Doubtless  this  event  had  a  great  influence 
upon  him  and  made  a  change  in  his  after  plans. 
Yet  he  remained  at  the  old  homestead,  in  the 
daily  pursuits  of  farm  life,  giving  his  help  to  his 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  21 

father  and  sisters,  and  devoting  any  spare 
moments  to  laying  up  some  money  for  future 
operations.  He  was  diligent  in  his  little  stock- 
yard and  vegetable  garden,  from  which  he 
gathered  and  sent  produce  to  the  Philadelphia 
market,  and  thus  obtained  money  to  put  in  his 
leather  trunk. 

COMING  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 

In  the  year  1810,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
he  came  to  Philadelphia  and  went  to  live  with 
Joseph  and  Collin  Cooper,  wholesale  drygoods 
merchants  (or  jobbers,  as  that  class  are  now 
called),  doing  business  at  No.  39  North  Front 
Street.  With  them  he  remained  five  years,  or 
until  he  was  twenty  one  years  of  age,  learning 
the  business  in  which  most  of  his  after  life  was 
spent.  At  first  he  acted  as  store  boy,  opening 
and  cleaning  the  store;  subsequently  he  became 
clerk  and  salesman. 

AS  A  SOLDIER. 

During  the  war  of  181 2,  Mr.  Newkirk  volun- 
teered in  defence  of  the  country,  and  with  many 


22  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

others  from  this  city  went,  in  the  year  1815,  to 
Camp  Dupont,  near  Wilmington,  Delaware. 
The  English  were  threatening  Philadelphia, 
having  a  large  fleet  and  army  on  the  coast.  The 
portion  of  the  forces  in  which  he  served  was 
gathered  for  the  special  defence  of  the  city  and 
adjacent  country.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
First  Company  Washington  Guards,  First  Bri- 
gade, First  Division,  P.  M.,  in  which  he  was 
promoted  to  be  Corporal. 

FIRST  EFFORTS  IN  BUSINESS. 

In  April,  1816,  he  made  his  first  independent 
efforts  in  mercantile  life.  Entering  into  part- 
nership with  his  sister  Mary  at  No.  41  North 
Second  Street,  he  began  with  a  small  retail  dry 
goods  store,  and  labored  with  diligence  and  suc- 
cess. This  arrangement  with  his  sister  con- 
tinued until  her  marriage,  soon  after  which  the 
partnership  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Newkirk  then 
continued  the  business  on  his  individual  account, 
and  very  soon  succeeded  in  securing  a  consider- 
able wholesale  trade.  His  active,  industrious, 
and  energetic  nature  helped  him  to  thrive. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  23 


MARRIAGES. 


On  May  1,  18 17,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Jane  Reese  Stroud,  a  lady  of  great  beauty,  who 
lived  only  the  brief  period  of  twenty-one 
months,  dying  with  consumption. 

On  July  2,  1 821,  he  was  married  to  Marga- 
ret, daughter  of  George  Heberton,  Esq.,  a  lady 
of  great  personal  attraction  and  of  superior 
Christian  character.  To  them  were  born  eight 
children,  four  of  whom  died  in  early  life ;  of 
the  four  who  lived  to  maturity  the  eldest,  Geo. 
Heberton,  died  September  22,  1861,  Mary  Jane 
Oliver  followed  him  the  next  month  (October 
21),  William  Henry,  the  next  in  generation, 
departing  this  life  March  11,  1864,  and  Mat- 
thew, the  youngest,  alone  survives. 

MERCANTILE  LIFE. 

About  this  time  (1821)  Mr.  Newkirk  formed 
a  partnership  with  William  Y.  Heberton,  his 
brother-in-law,  under  the  firm  of  "  Newkirk  & 
Heberton/'  and  carried  on  a  wholesale  and  retail 
jobbing  trade  at  No.  95  Market  Street. 


24 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


In  1824  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  Mr. 
Heberton  forming  other  business  connections 
and  Mr.  Newkirk  continuing  on  his  individual 
account  at  the  old  store.  Just  then  he  proposed 
to  Mr.  Charles  S.  Olden  (since  Governor  of  New 
Jersey),  with  whom  he  had  been  acquainted  for 
several  years,  that  he  should  delay  for  a  few 
months  going  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where 
Mr.  Olden  contemplated  commencing  business, 
and  remain  with  him  a  short  time,  as  by  his 
separation  from  Mr.  Heberton  he  was  destitute 
of  needed  assistance.  This  proposition  was 
accepted.  Mr.  Olden  remained,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1825  became  a  partner  with  Mr. 
Newkirk — the  former  carrying  on  the  business 
in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  where  the  firm  had 
a  branch  store,  and  the  latter  directing  it  in 
Philadelphia. 

Business  partnerships  were  formed  subse- 
quently with  Messrs.  John  B.  Stryker,  Francis 
Hoskins,  Ferdinand  and  Colson  Hieskell,  and 
others.  During  his  entire  mercantile  life  he 
took  a  special  interest  in  young  men,  introducing 
them  into  the  commercial  world  and  encourag- 
ing    them     to     form     habits    of    industry    and 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  25 

economy.  Some  who  were  considered  by  their 
acquaintances  to  be  unsafe  and  useless  became 
under  his  training  faithful  and  valuable  men  of 
business. 

In  1839  he  retired  from  active  business,  and 
closed  his  interest  in  the  store,  in  order  to  find 
improvement  for  the  enfeebled  health  of  his 
wife  in  European  travel.  But  her  decline  and 
death  (on  November  23,  1841)  changed  this 
plan,  and  he  never  saw  the  country  with  which 
he  had  made  himself  very  familiar  by  extensive 
reading. 

It  was  not  possible  for  one  of  such  an  active 
mind  and  industrious  habits  to  remain  unoccu- 
pied. And,  therefore,  his  subsequent  life  was 
filled  with  duties  and  engagements  quite  as 
arduous  and  urgent  as  any  work  to  which  he 
had  previously  applied  his  abilities.  The  with- 
drawal from  a  mercantile  house,  and  the  intrust- 
ing of  it  to  those  who  had  been  educated  to  it 
by  him,  gave  him  the  opportunities  of  devoting 
himself  more  generally  to  public,  charitable, 
and  religious  affairs.  In  July,  1846,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Hetty  M.,  daughter  of  Edward 
Smith,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  a  faith- 


26  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

ful  helper  in  all  his  labors,  and  who  now  sur- 
vives him. 

UNITED  STATES  BANK. 

One  of  the  earliest  public  undertakings  of  Mr. 
Newkirk  was  in  connection  with  the  United 
States  Bank.  During  a  part  of  its  eventful  ex- 
istence he  acted  as  a  prominent  and  efficient 
Director  of  it.  Hon.  Nicholas  Biddle,  being  an 
intimate  and  devoted  friend,  and  at  the  same 
time  President  of  the  Bank,  influenced  him  to 
take  a  large  interest  in  this  institution.  Thus  he 
became  acquainted  with  many  prominent  public 
persons,  such  as  Hon.  Amos  Lawrence  and 
George  Peabody,  Esq.,  and  especially  with  the 
Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  who  made  his  deposit  in 
this  bank,  and  who  intrusted  Mr.  Newkirk  with 
the  management  of  his  interest  in  it. 


PHILADELPHIA,  WILMINGTON,  AND 
BALTIMORE  RAILROAD. 

Perhaps  the  most  extensive  enterprise  in 
which  he  engaged  was  the  construction  of  the 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore  Rail- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  2J 

Road.     In   reference  to    this    enormous  under- 
taking I  will  subjoin  the  words  of  Mr.  Benja- 
min H.  Latrobe  (Chief  Engineer  of  the  Road  at 
the  time),  who  has  kindly  furnished  me,  in  a 
letter,  an  interesting  account  of  the  work. 
.  "The    entire    line    between    Baltimore    and 
Philadelphia  was  built  under  the  charters  of  four 
different    companies,    and    no    little    skill    was 
required  on  his  part  to  harmonize  their  action. 
The  one  next  to  Baltimore,  with  which  I  was 
connected,  gave  him  no  trouble  in  that  respect, 
for  he  furnished  every  dollar  of  the  capital  which 
it  cost,  and  his  word  was  consequently  law  here. 
The  section  of  the  route  between  the  Susque- 
hanna   and  Wilmington  was  more   difficult  to 
manage,  as  the  Wilmington  people  had  contri- 
buted largely  to  its  construction  from  their  more 
immediate  interest  in  it,  and  there  were  some 
opinionated  persons  among  the  directory  at  that 
place.     Between  Wilmington  and  Philadelphia 
the  work   was   carried   on   under   your   father's 
immediate  and    undisturbed    control,  and  with 
consequent  vigor.     During  the  entire   progress 
of  the  construction   of  the  whole  line  of  one 
hundred    miles  in    length,   which  was  accom- 


28  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

plished  in  little  more  than  two  years,  your 
father  paid  frequent  visits  to  every  part  of  it, 
infusing  his  own  spirit  into  every  operation,  pro- 
viding the  ample  means  required  to  carry  it  on, 
and  directing  their  effective  expenditure.  His 
position  as  a  Director  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
and  his  personal  relations  with  its  distinguished 
President,  Mr.  Biddle,  were  necessarily  of  great 
assistance  to  him  in  the  financial  part  of  the 
undertaking ;  and  had  the  vast  money  resources 
of  that  ill-fated  institution  been  invested  in  no 
worse  way  than  this,  it  would  probably  have  still 
survived  and  flourished. 

"My  intercourse  with  your  father  during  the 
two  years  of  my  connection  with  his  work  was 
of  course  very  frequent,  and  always  most  agree- 
able. .  .  .  Although  not  an  Engineer  himself, 
and  making  no  pretension  to  a  knowledge  of 
either  the  science  or  the  practical  details  of  the 
profession,  his  shrewd  good  sense  and  sound 
judgment  constantly  suggested  hints  in  regard 
to  matters  connected  with  the  working  of  the 
road  when  completed,  which  were  of  much 
assistance  to  those  who  had  the  planning  of  it ; 
for  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  was  a  verv 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  20. 

early  day  in  the  railway  history  of  the  country, 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  called  the  Pioneer, 
having  been  opened  with  horse-power  to  Har- 
per's Ferry  only  the  year  preceding  that  in 
which  your  father  took  the  eastward  extension 
to  Philadelphia  in  hand.  It  was  to  his  fore- 
sight and  ready  appreciation  of  the  superior 
adaptation  of  the  8 -wheel  passenger  car  to  Ameri- 
can railways  that  its  early  adoption  on  this  line, 
followed  by  its  universal  use  on  this  continent, 
was  mainly  due.  My  recommendation  of  it  was 
at  first  stoutly  opposed  by  the  Wilmington  Di- 
rectory, and  it  was  facetiously  compared  to  *  the 
car  in  which  cattle  were  carried  on  the  English 
railways/  Your  father,  however,  unmoved  by 
unsound  argument  and  sneers,  sustained  my 
report  in  its  favor,  and  although  the  cars  built 
at  Wilmington  were  at  first  of  the  old  4-wheel 
pattern  they  were  soon  stuck  together,  two  by 
two,  and  so  made  like  those  with  8-wheels. 
The  leading  features  of  the  famous  ferry-boat, 
*  the  Susquehanna,'  at  Havre  de  Grace,  were 
also  suggested  by  your  father,  and  made  (until 
the  last  two  years,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a 
bridge)  the  passage  of  that  formidable  river  as 


30  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

safe  and  easy  in  all  seasons  as  it  had  been  dan- 
gerous and  difficult  in  former  times.  The  union 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  and  the  Philadel- 
phia railways  in  one  central  station  was  also  pro- 
posed by  your  father,  and  it  was  an  unfortunate 
day  when,  after  years  of  successful  co-operation 
in  this  way,  they  were  subsequently  separated. 

"  If  I  am  not  misinformed,  the  system  of 
'  checking  baggage'  owes  its  original  suggestion  to 
your  father ;  and  I  have  not  forgotten  the  occa- 
sion when,  in  consequence  of  some  disaster  on 
the  road,  the  trunks  of  the  passengers  became  so 
confusedly  mixed  that  no  one  could  identify  his 
own  property,  it  was  your  father  who  proposed 
that  property  should  be  proved  by  the  applica- 
tion of  the  Keys.  This  he  himself  mentioned 
to  me  the  last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing and  speaking  with  him  of  those  past  occur- 
rences of  common  interest  to  us  both. 

"  As  my  intimate  acquaintance  with  your  father 
grew  thus  altogether  out  of  our  connection  with 
the  work  referred  to,  my  reminiscences  of  him 
relate  almost  entirely  to  that  part  of  his  life  as  a 
public  man ;  and  in  speaking  of  him  in  that 
connection   I    have    been    obliged    to    speak   of 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  3 1 

myself  in  a  rather  egotistical  way ;  the  main 
object  being  to  give  him  the  credit  so  richly  his 
due  as  the  chief  promoter  and  I  might  almost 
say  (with  reverence  to  the  higher  sense  in  which 
the  words  are  used  in  Scripture)  '  the  author  and 
finisher'  of  that  great  public  enterprise  which 
connected  at  that  early  day  two  of  the  great  cities 
of  the  seaboard  upon  the  shortest  and  best  route 
of  which  the  country  admits.  To  his  character 
and  career  as  a  merchant  and  man  of  business,  a 
philanthropist  and  a  Christian,  there  can  be  no 
want  of  witnesses  to  testify  in  a  manner  that  will 
perpetuate  his  memory  for  the  instruction  and 
example  of  others. " 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  Mr.  Newkirk 
was  the  first  President  of  this  important  road, 
which  is  still  the  only  railway  communication 
between  the  largest  eastern  cities  and  the  city  of 
Washington,  A  marble  monument  erected  in 
testimony  of  his  great  enterprise  and  success  in 
this  work  may  still  be  seen  standing  on  the  line 
of  the  road  at  Gray's  Ferry,  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Schuylkill  River,  below  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia. And  besides  the  improvements  in  cars,  to 
which  Mr.  Latrobe  refers,  it  should  be  said  that 


32 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Mr.  Newkirk  suggested  and  introduced  other 
conveniences  for  travellers,  and  as  he  believed 
inaugurated  the  "  express"  system. 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  mention  that 
Mr.  Newkirk  purchased  and  held  for  many 
years  the  popular  summer  resort  known  as 
"  Brandy  wine  Springs"  situated  six  miles  from 
Wilmington,  Delaware.  His  family  cottage  at 
this  place  was  always  filled  with  friends  and 
prominent  invited  guests;  and  the  many  families 
who  resorted  to  the  hotel  there  for  the  summer 
found  it  doubly  attractive  through  his  constant 
efforts  to  furnish  enjoyment  and  benefit. 

COAL  INTERESTS. 

The  Little  Schuylkill  Navigation  Railroad  and 
Coal  Company  owes  much  of  its  present  prospe- 
rous condition  to  Mr.  Newkirk's  energy  and 
perseverance  in  seeking  to  open  the  vast  coal 
fields  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  long  connected 
with  this  company,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  the  land  in 
Schuylkill  County.  The  people  of  Tamaqua  and 
its  neighboring  districts  will  remember  his  inte- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  33 

rest  in  their  social  and  religious  improvement, 
and  his  success  in  establishing  a  public  reading 
room  for  the  colliers  and  a  church  for  their 
higher  benefit. 


IRON  INTERESTS. 

About  the  year  1854,  Mr.  Newkirk  associated 
himself  with  a  number  of  prominent  and 
wealthy  merchants  of  this  city  for  the  purchase 
of  the  large  iron  manufacturing  works  at  Johns- 
town, Pennsylvania.  At  that  time  the  furnaces 
were  out  of  blast,  and  the  establishment  had 
well  nigh  suspended  operations.  To  revive  such 
immense  works,  and  to  carry  them  on  at  full 
power,  required  a  great  outlay  of  money  and 
constant  oversight.  Mainly  through  his  exer- 
tions the  necessary  amount  for  the  early  opera- 
tions of  the  Cambria  Iron  Company  was  raised. 
Indeed  much  was  contributed  by  himself  and 
loaned  upon  his  securities  that  the  enterprise 
might  not  fail. 

This  was  not  a  speculation.     So  many  advan- 
tages were  to    be    found    in    Johnstown ;    such 
resources  of  iron   ore  and   coal,   such   tracts  of 
3 


34  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

timber,  such  facilities  for  transportation  by  rail 
and  by  water,  that  Mr.  Newkirk's  prompt  and 
far-sighted  ability  discovered  a  most  desirable 
and  valuable  opportunity  to  develop  that  region, 
afford  employment  to  the  laboring  classes,  and 
obtain  remunerative  returns  for  money  thus  in- 
vested. 

It  was  a  vast  undertaking  for  one  who  had 
now  reached  threescore  years.  Still  the  ability 
and  perseverance  displayed  in  the  revival  of  this 
old  business,  and  its  reorganization  upon  a  larger 
and. more  liberal  scale,  exhibit  an  interesting  and 
important  element  of  his  character.  No  real  or 
apparent  difficulty  or  sudden  embarrassment 
daunted  him.  He  was  confident  of  the  ultimate 
and  abundant  success  of  the  undertaking. 

In  the  year  1857,  a  fire  occurred  and  destroyed 
the  main  rolling  mill,  thus  taking  the  employ- 
ment from  several  hundred  workmen,  and 
bringing  distress  into  their  families.  In  this 
emergency  Mr.  Newkirk  was  not  discouraged, 
but  urged  a  rebuilding  of  the  principal  mill  on 
a  more  extensive  scale.  The  subsequent  history 
of  the  Cambria  Iron  Company  and  its  profitable 
remuneration  of  those  who  have  been  interested 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


35 


in  it  were  subjects  of  gratulation  to  Mr.  New- 
kirk.  He  lived  to  see  his  prophecies  fulfilled, 
and  said  often  that  in  the  not  far-off  future  it 
would  necessarily  become,  under  judicious  man- 
agement, more  safe  and  profitable  than  it  had 
ever  yet  proved. 

FINANCIAL  EMBARRASSMENTS. 

About  the  year  1858  the  money  market  was 
very  stringent,  and  loans  of  money  called  for 
heavy  rates  of  interest.  The  whole  country  was 
disturbed  by  the  general  want  of  business  confi- 
dence. Nor  did  Mr.  Newkirk  escape  this  em- 
barrassment. While  he  did  not  immediately 
suffer  from  it,  he  found  that  his  large  invest- 
ments in  this  company  (which  demanded  heavy 
sums  to  defray  its  current  expenses  and  did  not 
yield  profits  for  some  time  after  its  organization), 
so  crippled  and  distressed  him  that  he  felt 
obliged,  in  all  honor,  to  protect  those  to  whom 
he  was  indebted.  In  this  crisis  of  his  affairs  he 
sought  eminent  legal  counsel,  and  upon  their 
earnest  advice  resorted  to  an  assignment  of  his 
property  into  the  hands  of  a  young  man  hitherto 


36  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

unknown  to  him,  but  an  attorney-at-law  most 
confidently  recommended  as  a  prudent  and  effi- 
cient administrator  of  his  affairs.  In  the  course 
of  two  years  all  his  judgment  notes  which  had 
been  issued  previously  were  satisfied,  and  the 
remainder  of  his  estate  was  transferred  to  the 
absolute  control  and  management  of  Mr.  New- 
kirk.  While  he  would  have  preferred  not  to 
have  made  this  assignment,  and  was  convinced 
that  he  could  have  more  profitably  disposed  of 
his  own  property,  he  did  it  in  order  to  prove  his 
anxiety  for  a  complete  and  equitable  arrange- 
ment with  all  his  creditors. 


REAL  ESTATE. 

It  was  always  a  settled  conviction  with  Mr. 
Newkirk  that  real  estate  is  the  safest  financial 
investment.  Accordingly  he  purchased  large 
tracts  of  land  in  different  States.  At  one  time 
he  was  possessor  of  real  estate  in  eleven  States  of 
the  Union,  besides  being  landlord  of  perhaps 
more  dwelling  houses  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
than  any  other  citizen.  In  the  year  1836  he 
purchased  the  large  lot  at  the  southwest  corner 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  37 

of  Arch  and  Thirteenth  Streets  (Philadelphia), 
upon  which  he  built  the  handsome  marble  resi- 
dence where  he  resided  many  years  and  finally 
died.  The  external  appearance,  which  was  such 
a  remarkable  variation  from  the  ordinary  two 
and  three  story  brick  houses  of  that  day,  and 
the  convenient  internal  arrangements  exhibited 
his  architectural  taste  and  skill.  Although 
erected  more  than  thirty  years  ago  it  is  still  a 
modern  residence,  and  it  would  be  difficult  even 
now  to  make  any  improvement  on  it.* 

Mr.  Newkirk  was  a  member  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  the  Select  Council  of  Philadelphia  to 
erect  Girard  College ;  and  here  also  he  exhibited 
his  architectural  ability.  He  was  ever  the  friend 
of  public  improvements.  When  the  Fairmount 
Park  was  planned,  he  urged  the  city  councils  to 
be  liberal  in  making  it  worthy  of  the  city  and 
attractive  to  strangers.  In  aid  of  it  he  contri- 
buted largely  both  in  money  and  in  some  of  his 
real  estate  which  lay  adjacent. 

*  It  is  the  first  private  residence  in  this  city,  we  have  been 
informed,  in  which  gas  was  introduced  throughout  the  building. 


38  A  MEMORIAL  OF 


EDUCATIONAL. 

Although  he  never  enjoyed  a  complete  school 
education,  he  was  a  warm  advocate  and  friend 
of  all  literary  institutions.  For  thirty-four  years 
of  his  life  he  was  an  active  Trustee  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey, 
where  two  of  his  sons  were  graduated.  And  at 
the  recent  election  of  the  Rev.  James  McCosh, 
D.  D.,  LL.D.,  of  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  Ire- 
land, to  the  Presidency  of  that  honored  institu- 
tion, Mr.  Newkirk  being  the  oldest  living 
trustee  presided  at  the  meeting  of  the  trustees, 
and  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  this  eminent 
scholar  elected  with  great  unanimity. 

He  was,  also,  a  strong  friend  of  La  Fa- 
yette College,  contributed  largely  towards  it 
during  its  eventful  career,  and  rejoiced  in  its 
later  successful  history. 

The  Polytechnic  College  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania almost  owes  its  existence  to  Mr.  New- 
kirk's  liberality  and  energy.  Giving  for  many 
years  the  use  of  a  large  building  for  the  benefit 
of  this  scientific  school,  and  acting  as  its  presi- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  39 

dent  for  the  sixteen  years  from  its  organization 
until  the  day  of  his  death,  it  is  not  strange  that 
he  should  be  mentioned  in  the  resolutions  of  its 
trustees  as  "an  illustrious  and  indefatigable  co- 
operator  and  friend  of  the  public  improvements 
of  Pennsylvania  and  of  the  sister  States ;"  and 
that  the  cadets  of  this  college  should  act  as  an 
escort  at  the  funeral  of  their  friend  and  bene- 
factor. 

For  years  he  acted  as  the  President  of 
the  Female  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
advocating  the  complete  medical  education  of 
women  for  their  own  sex,  for  practice  in  female 
seminaries,  and  for  foreign  missionary  work. 
And  when  the  college  was  united  with  another 
similar  institution,  he  was  asked  to  accept  the 
Presidency  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  but 
declined. 

To  prove  his  interest  and  his  firm  belief  in 
this  plan  he  educated,  at  his  own  expense,  a  lady 
who  practised  medicine  with  great  success  until 
her  death. 


4° 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


TEMPERANCE. 


During  forty  years  of  his  life  he  gave  his 
cordial  and  earnest  support  to  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance. As  President  of  the  "Pennsylvania 
State  Temperance  Society"  he  exerted  himself 
with  his  characteristic  energy  and  devotion  in 
holding  public  meetings  throughout  the  city  and 
State.  The  fewness  of  the  friends  of  the  cause 
did  not  deter  him  from  laboring  for  its  extension. 
From  his  first  adoption  of  these  principles  he 
abolished  in  his  counting-room  the  old  habit, 
which  was  in  practice  among  merchants,  of 
offering  wines  and  liquors  to  wholesale  pur- 
chasers. And  we  remember  hearing  him  say 
that  one  morning  when  he  had  poured  out  the 
contents  of  his  decanters,  and  had  resolved  to 
abandon  this  injurious  custom,  the  clerks 
humorously  tied  a  piece  of  crape  around  the 
neck  of  the  empty  bottle. 

His  views  on  temperance  were  reduced  to  the 
most  unvarying  practice,  so  that  whoever  might 
be  his  guest,  the  only  beverage  offered  would  be 
water,  coffee,  or  lemonade.     Rev.  Theo.   Led- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  4 1 

yard  Cuyler,  D.  D.,  long  a  personal  friend  of 
Mr.  Newkirk,  has  so  well  recorded  this  strong 
element  of  his  character  that  I  take  the  liberty 
of  introducing  here  an  article  contributed  by 
him  to  "  The  National  Temperance  Advocate." 

"A  MODEL  TEMPERANCE  MAN. 

"The  temperance  cause  has  sustained  a  sad  loss 
in  the  death  of  Matthew  Newkirk,  Esq.,  of 
Philadelphia.  He  died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  on  the 
31st  of  May — his  seventy-fourth  birthday.  He 
was  the  oldest  elder  of  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church;  and,  from  his  living  in  a  marble  house, 
he  used  to  be  playfully  styled  the  '  marble  elder.' 

"  For  many  years  he  was  the  President  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Temperance  Society,  and  to 
his  dying  day  he  loved  the  good  cause  'with  all 
his  heart,  and  mind,  and  strength/  He  num- 
bered the  celebrated  Henry  Clay  among  his  most 
intimate  friends.  Thirty  years  ago,  Mr.  Clay 
came  to  visit  Mr.  Newkirk,  and  spent  several 
days  with  him.  His  entertainer  invited  a  large 
company  of  the  leading  lawyers  and  bankers  and 
merchants  of  the  city  to  spend  an  evening  with 
old  '  Harry  of  the  West.'      A  splendid  supper 


42  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

was  provided  by  brother  Newkirk  for  his  dis- 
tinguished guests.  All  the  luxuries  of  the 
market  and  the  confectioner  were  on  his  bounti- 
ful table  ;  but  not  one  drop  of  wine  or  brandy  I 

"Instead  of  intoxicating  poisons,  Mr.  Newkirk 
provided  plenty  of  coffee  and  lemonade  and 
Fairmount  water.  There  was  a  great  deal  of 
cracking  jokes  that  evening  among  the  aristo- 
cracy, about  the  '  cold-water  party ;'  and  some 
took  up  their  coffee  and  tea,  and  drank  each 
other  '  good  health'  with  great  gusto.  The 
next  morning,  when  Mr.  Newkirk  went  down 
town,  his  friends  met  him,  and  said,  6  Well, 
Newkirk,  we  have  not  got  up  so  bright,  and  felt 
so  well  after  a  party,  in  many  a  year.  No  head- 
aches this  morning !  We  believe  in  cold-water 
frolics;  they  don't  leave  any  bills  to  pay  next 
morning.' 

"This  total  abstinence  entertainment  to  Henry 
Clay  was  quite  the  town  talk  in  Philadelphia, 
and  it  produced  a  very  happy  influence.  Would 
that  more  men  of  social  standing  would  follow 
such  a  noble  example!  But  the  very  fact  that 
this  case  attracted  so  much  attention  is  a  lament- 
able proof  of  the  general  prevalence  of  the  oppo- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  43 

site  practice.  A  temperance  entertainment  in 
the  so-called  'aristocratic'  circles  is  as  rare  as  a 
glass  of  'pure  wine/  or  a  can  of  unadulterated 
milk  from  a  city  milkman. 

"  The  grog-shops  are  the  finishing-offplaces  of 
the  inebriates  who  begin  their  evil  habits  at  the 
social  board.  Every  host  who  provides  strong 
drink  for  his  guests  is  (unwittingly,  perhaps) 
a  drunkard-manufacturer!  The  'woe'  pro- 
nounced on  him  'who  putteth  the  bottle  to  his 
neighbor'  rests  on  his  head.  Of  that  terrible 
woe,  our  honored  and  beloved  brother  Newkirk 
died  guiltless.  We  sympathize  with  the  tempe- 
rance workers  of  the  Keystone  State  in  the  loss 
of  a  man  who  carried  his  total  abstinence  into 
his  home,  his  church,  and  his  social  relations." 

Mr.  Newkirk  allied  himself  with  the  benevo- 
lent and  charitable  institutions  of  the  city,  and 
gave  much  time  and  money  to  their  support. 
Nearly  every  afternoon  of  the  week  was  spent  at 
the  meeting  of  some  society.  The  resolutions 
of  condolence  with  his  bereaved  family  sent  to 
them  after  his  burial  and  inserted  at  the  close  of 
this  volume,  represent  some  of  these  institutions. 


44  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Advancing  life  with  its  infirmities  obliged  him 
to  resign  many  of  these  honorable  positions. 
He  was  not  willing  to  remain  as  an  officer  or 
member  of  a  committee  or  society,  when  he 
could  not  perform  his  allotted  part. 

His  views  upon  the  great  question  of  protec- 
tion to  home  industry  and  public  manufactures 
were  very  decided,  having  been  early  formed 
and  never  altered.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  assert 
that  such  protection  is  demanded  by  the  most 
vital  interests  of  every  branch  of  labor  and  every 
section  of  our  country. 

In  the  late  civil  war  his  sympathies  and  gifts 
were  heartily  and  earnestly  and  freely  given  to 
the  support  of  the  government.  And  yet  he 
rejoiced  in  being  permitted  to  see  the  termina- 
tion of  the  fratricidal  strife,  and  the  glorious 
triumphs  of  the  nation. 

RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

This  was  the  most  interesting  as  well  as  the 
most  important  department  of  Mr.  Newkirk's  his- 
tory. His  strict  integrity,  his  extensive  benefi- 
cence,   his    hearty  sympathy  with    every   good 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


45 


work  are  all  explained  by  his  Christian  faith  and 
principle.  Religion  entered  as  a  very  prominent 
element  into  all  his  affairs. 

Educated  with  strict  care  by  Christian  parents, 
he  was  taught  to  become  a  regular  attendant 
upon  divine  worship,  and  to  consider  religion  as 
of  supreme  concern.  And  these  first  impressions 
were  never  obliterated.  In  his  early  mercantile 
career,  though  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
church,  he  was  punctually  present  at  Sabbath 
services,  and  at  the  two  weekly  meetings  (on 
Wednesday  and  Friday  evenings)  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that 
for  twenty-five  years  he  was  absent  from  only 
two  evening  services.  Even  in  "the  busy  sea- 
sons" of  his  mercantile  life,  he  would  make 
every  other  engagement  yield  to  the  more 
important  obligations  of  the  house  of  God; 
and  though  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to 
return  to  the  store  after  the  religious  meeting, 
he  would  make  the  temporal  subservient  to  the 
spiritual. 

In  the  year  1821  he  was  the  subject  of  deep 
religious  convictions.  These  were  received  from 
hearing  Rev.  James  Wilson,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the 


46  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

First    Presbyterian    Church    read    a    hymn    on 
death,  in  which  the  following  verses  occurred  : — 

"  When  clammy  sweats  through  ev'ry  part 
Show  life's  retreating  to  the  heart; 
Its  last  resistance  there  to  make 
And  then  the  breathless  frame  forsake  ; 

"When  vast  eternity's  in  sight; 
The  brightest  day,  the  blackest  night ; 
One  shock  will  break  the  building  down 
And  let  thee  into  worlds  unknown. 

"Oh,  come,  my  soul,  the  matter  weigh! 
How  wilt  thou  leave  thy  kindred  clay,  0 

And  how  the  unknown  regions  try 
And  launch  into  eternity  ?" 

He  made  a  profession  of  religion  December 
13,  1832,  in  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Philadelphia,  which  had  been  organized  that 
year,  and  was  worshipping  in  the  Whitefield 
Academy  on  Fourth  Street.  The  duty  of  con- 
necting himself  with  the  church  was  urged  upon 
him  by  the  late  Rev.  James  W.  Alexander,  D.  D., 
who,  on  that  occasion,  rode  with  Mr.  Newkirk 
in  his  carriage  to  church.  Dr.  Alexander  was 
insisting  upon  an  immediate  connection  with 
the  church,  to  which  Mr.  Newkirk  replied  that 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


47 


he  did  not  think  that  he  could  consistently  take 
such  an  important  step  while  he  was  engaged  in 
an  active  and  extended  mercantile  business — the 
two,  a  profession  in  the  one  and  practice  in  the 
other  seemed  contradictory  and  inconsistent. 
After  he  had  sought  thus  to  evade  his  duty,  and 
obtain  reasons  for  excusing  his  neglect,  Dr. 
Alexander  turned  to  him  and  asked,  "  What  is 
that  to  thee?  Follow  thou  me!"  (John  xxi.  22.) 
It  was  a  critical  season,  but  the  decision  was 
made  in  favor  of  an  open  and  cordial  dedication 
of  himself  to  God  and  His  service. 

Mr.  Newkirk's  entire  religious  life  was  in  con- 
nection with  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church 
(corner  Eighth  and  Cherry  Streets).  He  was 
Secretary  of  the  congregational  meeting  at  its 
organization  in  May,  1832.  On  January  26, 
1834,  he  was  elected  a  Ruling  Elder  in  that 
church  ;  on  October  2,  he  was  made  a  Deacon ; 
and  from  the  first  election  for  Trustees  on  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1833,  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  acted 
in  this  office. 

He  was  connected  with  the  Sabbath  school  as  a 
teacher  previous  to  his  profession  of  religion, 
but  he  was  elected  and  acted  as  superintendent 


48  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

of  the  female  department  from  the  year  1841 
until  1867,  when  the  schools  of  the  church  were 
reorganized  and  reconstructed,  and  he  was 
unanimously  chosen  to  be  the  general  superin- 
tendent of  the  infant,  intermediate,  and  adult 
departments.  In  1868  he  felt  that  the  infirmi- 
ties of  age  unfitted  him  for  the  active  duties  of 
his  office,  and  asked  the  teachers  to  accept  his 
resignation.  This  they  refused  to  do,  insisting 
upon  his  continuance  in  the  office  with  the  aid 
of  an  assistant.  Only  two  Sabbaths,  however, 
was  he  permited  to  act  in  this  capacity — death 
interrupting  his  plans  and  calling  him  to  rest 
from  his  labors.* 

Mr.  Newkirk  was  devoted  to  all  the  interests 
of  the  Central  Church,  contributing  in  every 
possible  way  within  his  ability  to  the  comfort 
and  relief  of  its  pastors — assisting  in  the  improve- 
ments   of  the   church  building   and   advancing 

*  He  gave  special  prominence  to  instruction  in  the  Westmin- 
ster Shorter  Catechism,  not  only  in  his  household,  but  in  his 
Sabbath  school.  And  one  year  his  offer  of  a  handsome  copy  of 
the  Holy  Bible  to  any  teacher  or  scholar  who  would  commit  to 
memory  and  recite  correctly  the  Shorter  Catechism,  was  re- 
sponded to  by  more  than  one  hundred  and  forty  persons. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  49 

money  towards  the  defraying  of  necessary  ex- 
penses. In  December,  1867,  he  took  a  lively 
interest  in  the  alteration  of  the  lecture-room, 
suggesting  and  overseeing  the  changes,  so  that 
he  exhausted  himself  and  contracted  cold,  from 
which  he  suffered  greatly. 

But  he  did  not  confine  himself  in  his  Christian 
labors  to  the  sphere  of  his  own  congregation. 
The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  appointed  him  one  of  its  trustees  in 
1833,  which  office  he  filled  till  death.  In  1838 
he  was  chosen  treasurer  of  the  General  Assembly, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  twelve  years. 

He  was  an  incorporator  and  trustee  of  the  Board 
of  Publication,  and  served  for  a  time  in  the  Board 
of  Education.  But  he  felt  deepest  interest  in  the 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  where  he  gave  the 
longest  service,  the  most  faithful  attention,  and 
the  most  zealous  care.  The  importance  of  the 
work  in  our  rapidly  populating  western  field 
interested  him  in  proposing  plans  for  the  obtain- 
ing of  money  to  carry  forward  the  operations. 
Only  those  who  were  daily  witnesses  of  his 
anxiety  and  toil,  and  those  who  were  recipients 
of  his  bounties  can  understand  the  remark  that 
4 


5° 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


he  engaged  in  this  work  of  the  Lord  with  as 
much  earnestness  and  zeal  as  though  it  were  his 
own  private  business.  On  two  occasions,  when 
the  board  was  suffering  from  financial  embar- 
rassment, he  succeeded  in  relieving  it.  At  one 
time  he  negotiated  a  loan  with  a  prominent 
bank,  and  had  each  missionary  paid  in  full  with 
the  checks  issued  by  the  bank.  His  policy  was 
broad,  liberal,  and  aggressive — relying  on  the 
church  to  answer  every  sincere  appeal  made  in 
the  Master's  name,  and  relying  on  the  great 
Lord  of  the  vineyard  to  furnish  the  requisite 
laborers.*  When  he  died,  our  home  mission- 
aries lost  a  sympathizing  friend  and  a  liberal 
supporter.  I  cannot  refrain  from  appending 
extracts  of  letters  received  from  some  of  the 
faithful  missionaries  on  our  western  frontiers ; 
Writes  one,  he  is  "the   same   dear  friend   from 

*  From  an  examination  of  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Domes- 
tic Missions  I  gather  these  interesting  facts:  Mr.  Newkirk  was 
elected  a  member  of  this  board  on  May  31,  1834,  and  served  in 
it  until  his  death  on  May  31,  1868.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  all  of  this  time,  excepting  in  the  years  1859 
and  1867;  and  acted  as  Recording  Secretary  from  185 6-1 85 g, 
and  from  1861  until  his  resignation  of  this  office  in  1867. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


51 


whom  we  have  heard  encouraging  words  and 
received  material  aid  more  than  once.  We  too 
have  lost  a  friend  in  him.  And  so  I  believe  will 
many  another  missionary  and  missionary's  wife 
feel  wherever  they  shall  read  the  tidings  of  his 
departure.  An  Apostle  said  of  one,  *  She  hath 
been  a  succorer  of  many,  and  of  myself  also.' 
So  will  it  be  said  of  him.  The  careworn  laborer 
in  many  a  distant  field  will  pause  and  sigh  as  he 
hears  that  another  such  helper  has  gone." 

Another  writes  :  "  God  gave  Mr.  Newkirk  a 
high  place  in  the  church,  and  made  him  greatly 
useful  in  the  cause  and  kingdom  of  His  dear 
Son,  and  now  He  has  but  taken  him  to  a  large, 
though  free  and  gracious  reward."  Others  have 
written  expressive  of  their  sense  of  personal 
affliction  and  bereavement  in  his  death. 

He  felt  it  a  privilege  to  contribute  towards 
the  erection  of  church  buildings  in  new  fields, 
and  to  the  support  of  feeble  church  organiza- 
tions in  old  ones.  Many  a  minister  can  testify 
to  the  cheerful  manner  in  which  he  made  a  sub- 
scription, when  asked,  to  his  church.  In  truth, 
wherever  he  tarried  he  inquired  about  the  reli- 
gious privileges    of  the  community,  and   aided 


r2  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

largely  in  their  maintenance.  We  need  only 
refer  to  his  gifts  to  the  Presbyterian  Churches  at 
Tamaqua  and  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  had  coal  and  iron  interests.  At  the  Brandy- 
wine  Springs  (near  Wilmington,  Delaware), 
where  he  spent  twenty  successive  summers  with 
his  family,  he  always  provided  preaching  on  the 
Sabbath  for  the  guests  of  the  hotel,  by  sending 
to  Philadelphia  and  procuring  the  services  of 
some  of  its  clergymen. 

When  he  learned  that  in  the  town  of  Pitts- 
grove,  New  Jersey  (where  he  was  born),  the 
congregation  were  sadly  in  need  of  a  lecture 
room  and  session  house,  he  gave  authority  to  the 
trustees  to  erect,  at  his  expense,  such  a  building 
as  would  be  necessary  and  comfortable  for  their 
use,  which  was  done,  without  any  dictation  on 
his  part  as  to  the  size  or  cost  of  the  structure. 

Mr.  Newkirk  was  a  true  friend  and  liberal 
supporter  of  the  Sabbath  school  cause,  acting  as 
President  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Sabbath 
School  Association  for  a  year,  and  urging  for- 
ward with  his  wonted  earnestness  the  great  work. 
This  association  held  their  annual  convention  in 
Pittsburg,  in  May  and  June,    1868 — made  fre- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  53 

quent  and  touching  references  to  and  prayers  for 
their  dying  and  soon  deceased  President,  and  on 
the  day  and  hour  of  the  funeral  postponed  their 
regular  business  to  engage  in  appropriate  services. 
And  it  was  a  beautiful  and  undesigned  coincidence 
that  at  the  same  time  his  funeral  services  were 
held  in  this  city  they  sang  the  same  hymn  which 
was  sung  over  his  coffin — "  I  would  not  live 
alway."  They  also  sang  his  familiar  and  chosen 
hymn — "Sweet  hour  of  prayer,"  the  closing 
words  of  which  always  conveyed  to  his  mind 
such  a  happy  idea  that  he  would  repeat  and  call 
attention  to  them  : — 

"And  shout,  while  passing  through  the  air, 
Farewell,  farewell,  sweet  hour  of  prayer." 

That  is  the  end  of  prayer ;  then  praise  begins! 

His  Christian  hospitality  was  a  striking  feature 
of  his  character.  He  was  very  fond  of  giving 
social  entertainments  to  prominent  civil  and  re- 
ligious personages,  and  his  residence  was  the 
resort  of  a  great  number  of  distinguished  men. 
For  many  years  past  there  have  been  in  this  city 
few  public  religious  assemblies,  the  delegates  or 
representatives    of  which    have   not  received   a 


54  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

welcome,  and  many  found  a  home  at  his  resi- 
dence. He  would  entertain  as  many  as  his 
house  could  accommodate,  and  would  sometimes 
even  inconvenience  members  of  his  own  house- 
hold in  order  to  provide  for  strangers.  Nor  was 
it  only  on  special  occasions  that  he  thus  had 
visitors.  He  kept  an  open  door  of  hospitality 
for  many  who  came  unexpectedly  and  who 
knew  of  his  genial  and  liberal  spirit. 

The  last  public  entertainment  which  he  gave 
was  at  his  residence  on  the  occasion  of  the  meet- 
ing in  Philadelphia  of  the  Committees  of  the 
Presbyterian  General  Assemblies  on  Reunion 
(March  13,  1868).  The  clergymen  and  elders 
invited  came  in  large  numbers ;  but  even  then 
Mr.  Newkirk  was  hardly  able,  from  failing  sight, 
to  distinguish  the  faces,  and  in  his  declining 
health  he  could  scarcely  speak  a  welcome  to  his 
guests.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  infirmities, 
he  enjoyed  the  communion  of  these  Christian 
brethren,  and  expressed  his  hope  that  a  safe  and 
satisfactory  basis  for  the  reunion  of  the  branches 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  would,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  soon  reached. 

All  such  gatherings  were  marked  with  appro- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  55 

priate  religious  services,  such  as  he  considered 
were  becoming  in  a  Christian  family.  Said  one 
who  knew  him  long  and  intimately,  "  Mr.  New- 
kirk  never  trifled" — while  always  cheerful  and 
entering  most  heartily  in  every  entertainment,  he 
never  was  betrayed  into  levity. 


LAST  ILLNESS. 

It  will  be  generally  conceded,  what  the  most 
experienced  physicians  have  often  pronounced, 
that  Mr.  Newkirk  was  gifted  with  a  remarkably 
strong  constitution  to  endure  the  labor,  fatigue, 
excitement,  and  changes  of  a  varied  life.  In- 
dustrious and  earnest  in  all  his  work,  he  was 
withal  strictly  temperate  and  even  abstemious. 
When  very  dangerously  ill  at  New  Orleans  in 
1 835  with  dysentery,  he  was  urged  to  use  brandy 
and  other  alcoholic  stimulants,  but  he  absolutely 
and  persistently  refused,  and  preferred  a  simpler 
remedy  which  proved  beneficial.  Thus  he  pre- 
served his  natural  vigor.  Yet  with  advancing 
years  he  could  not  resist  the  constant  wear  upon 
his  strength.  His  friends  noticed  the  begin- 
nings of  physical  failure.     The  quick  firm  foot- 


56  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

step  became  tottering  and  uncertain — the  eye 
which  was  so  bright  and  keen  to  discern  persons 
and  objects  grew  dim — the  brain  which  was  so 
active  in  plans  and  projects  began  to  feel  the 
effects  of  constant  exercise — and  he  was  obliged 
to  acknowledge  that  he  was  declining.  Still 
he  did  all  that  he  could  for  the  cause  of  the 
Master.  The  last  years  were  the  ripest  and 
richest. 

If  he  could  not  then  accomplish  much  by  his 
own  direct  efforts,  he  was  desirous  of  directing 
and  stimulating  others.  On  the  morning  of 
Sabbath,  the  17th  day  of  May,  he  attended  the 
Sabbath  school  of  which  he  was  the  General 
Superintendent.  So  feeble  was  he  that  he  was 
obliged  to  ride  to  the  church  and  to  rest  several 
times  before  he  could  ascend  the  stairs  to  his 
room ;  yet  with  this  weakness  and  imperfect 
vision  he  conducted  the  opening  exercises,  and 
in  a  remarkably  earnest  manner  urged  the 
teachers  to  greater  diligence  and  devotion, 
adding  that  he  had  determined  to  re-enter  the 
service  with  renewed  zeal.  It  was  his  last  visit 
to  that  school,  which  he  had  so  long  and  faith- 
fully served.     His  charge  to  increased  effort  in 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  57 

behalf  of  the  souls  of  the  children  became,  in 
God's  Providence,  his  Valedictory. 

On  the  night  of  Thursday,  May  21,  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  with  a  violent  disorder  in  the 
stomach,  and  when  his  medical  attendants  were 
summoned  to  give  him  relief,  it  was  readily  per- 
ceived that  at  his  age,  with  the  unfavorable 
symptoms  of  increasing  blindness  and  pain  in  the 
head,  the  bodily  tenement  which  was  broken 
and  tottering,  could  not  much  longer  endure. 
The  physicians  indeed  were  successful  in  arrest- 
ing and  curing  this  disorder,  but  soon  discovered 
that  he  was  suffering  from  that  most  alarming 
disease,  the  softening  of  the  brain.  Death 
appeared  inevitable.  Mr.  Newkirk  was  aware 
of  his  situation,  but  was  not  at  any  moment 
alarmed  at  the  prospect.  When  interrogated  as 
«  to  his  feelings  and  hopes,  he  expressed  himself 
most  decidedly  as  resting  simply  upon  the  merits 
of  that  Divine  Redeemer  whom  he  had  known, 
and  loved,  and  served  so  many  years.  His  faith 
was  strong,  and  his  mind  peaceful. 

He  loved  to  converse  with  those  who  called. 
And  it  afforded  him  great  delight  to  sing  or  pray 
with   those  who    would    engage    with    him    in 


58  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

these  exercises.  To  every  one  of  the  family  he 
addressed  words  of  comfort  and  blessing  ;  and 
the  last  words  which  he  uttered,  were  "God 
bless  the  church" — "God  bless  the  world !" 
Then  as  the  disease  progressed  he  became  weak 
and  unable  to  speak.  And  thus  he  lingered  until 
on  Sabbath,  May  31 — his  seventy-fourth  birth- 
day— -just  as  the  clock  struck  six  in  the  evening, 
his  last  faint  breath  was  drawn — and  he  was 
dead!  He  lived  to  spend  that  anniversary  day, 
the  last  day  of  spring,  with  his  loved  household, 
and  as  the  night  came  on,  he  went  to  that  land 
where  the  Sabbath  never  ends,  and  the  congre- 
gation ne'er  breaks  up.  Such  was  his  life — and 
such  his  death  !  the  one  holy,  the  other  happy. 
In  concluding  this  memoir,  I  venture  to 
affirm  that  of  few  men  it  can  be  said,  in  review- 
ing their  lives,  what  we  can  honestly  say  of  Mr. 
Matthew  Newkirk — that  with  his  limited  edu- 
cational privileges,  his  humble  beginning,  and 
his  unaided  labors  he  accomplished  an  immense 
amount  of  practical  good,  and  helped  a  great 
number  of  weak  and  weary  disciples,  and  inau- 
gurated a  grand  system  of  beneficent  agencies. 
What  the  Hon.  John  M.  Clayton,  Senator  from 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  59 

Delaware,  said  of  him  is  strikingly  true — "  Mr. 
Newkirk  will  be  known  as  a  public  benefactor 
when  his  enemies  are  forgotten. "  One  monu- 
ment would  not  be  sufficient  to  commemorate 
his  virtues  and  his  services. 

And  now,  father,  farewell :  Thou  hast  been 
faithful  to  me — a  guide  of  my  youth —  a  coun- 
sellor of  my  manhood — an  example  for  my  life. 
Bearing  thy  name,  I  will  cherish  thy  memory  ; 
and  I  only  ask  that  the  mantle  of  thy  faithful, 
laborious,  zealous  life  for  Jesus  may  fall  on  him 
who,  alone  of  all  thy  children,  survives  to  call 
thee  blessed. 

Though  dead,  thou  dost  speak  to  us — through 
all  the  agencies  thou  didst  set  in  motion — as  one 
who  was  pre-eminently — 

"  Not  slothful  in  business ; 
Fervent  in  spirit  ; 
SERVING  THE  LORD." 


60  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

The  following  verses  were  written  at  the  bed- 
side of  Mr.  Newkirk,  as  he  lay  dying  : — 

LINES  BY  REV.  M.  W.  JACOBUS,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 

Like  as  a  golden  shock  of  corn  is  ripely  gathered  home, 

Like  as  the  full-orb'd  King  of  Day  comes  glowing  down  the  dome, 

So,  laden  full  of  years  and  fruits,  the  veteran  sinks  to  rest ; 

The  foot-sore  pilgrim  falls  asleep  upon  the  Saviour's  breast. 

His  day  of  death  is  brought  to  pass  upon  his  day  of  birth, 

A  second  natal  day  is  his,  as  he  falls  back  to  earth  ; 

Though  four  beyond  "  threescore  and  ten'''  his  earthly  birthdays  ran, 

'Tis  only  now  that  he  attains  the  highest  birth  of  man. 

Born  by  a  spiritual  birth,  near  twoscore  years  ago, 

He  's  born  by  a  celestial  birth,  among  the  angels  now  ; 

Born  to  a  heritage  of  bliss,  beyond  the  reach  of  pain, 

Where  sickness,  care,  and  sorrowing  toil,  shall  ne'er  be  his  again. 

A  Sabbath  birthday  !  fittest,  best,  to  be  his  day  of  death, 

The  Saviour's  Rising  day,  for  him  to  breathe  his  dying  breath — 

This  Sabbath  rest  of  earth,  for  him  to  enter  into  joy ; 

The  long  week's  labors  done,  to  go  where  praise  his  powers  employ. 

Last  day  of  Spring!  when  sowing  time  has  wholly  pass'd  away, 
When  seeds  cast  in  the  furrow,  shoot  towards  their  harvest-day ; 
When  all  the  bleak  winds,  blown  at  length,  have  sigh'd  them  to  a 

calm, 
And    Summer  comes,  with  fruits  and  flow'rs,   for    Nature's  happy 

psalm. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  6  I 

Give  him  his  choice  of  all  the  days,  to  have  his  life  depart, 
A  Christian  life,  so  brimming  full,  with  works  of  hand  and  heart, 
Spring's  latest  day  on  earth,  to  land  upon  the  summer  shore — 
Spring's  parting  Sabbath  day,  to  reach  the  Sabbath  evermore. 

Better  to  such  an  one  the  day  of  death,  than  day  of  birth, 
The  day  of  ent'ring  Heaven,  than  the  day  of  ent'ring  earth  ; 
Better  this  putting  off,  than  putting  on,  the  coat  of  mail, 
The  day  of  coming  into  port,  than  day  of  setting  sail. 

While  in  the  temple  that  he  lov'd,  ye  worship  well  to-day — 
He  joins  the  church  around  the  throne,  to  worship  there  for  aye  ; 
He  lies  in  state,  and  round  the  bed  ye  do  not  well  to  weep, 
So  God,  with  ministries  unknown,  gives  His  beloved  sleep. 

Just  at  the  hour  when  lab'ring  men  come  home  from  busy  toil, 
Their  work  laid  down,  their  wages  reap'd  in  products  of  the  soil  ; 
Just  when  the  sweet  Spring  Sabbath  sun  has  come,  at  length,  to  set, 
Without  a  sigh  or  struggle,  the  great  summons  he  has  met. 

Farewell,  the  city  and  the  church,  the  home  he  cherish'd  long; 
Farewell,  the  poor  and  the  distress'd,  whose  tears  he  turn'd  to  song  ; 
Farewell,  the   widow'd,   orphan'd,   crush'd,   whose   many   woes  he 

bore  ; 
Farewell,  the  Sabbath  School  belov'd,  he'll  never  enter  more. 

He's  found  the  City  of  his  God — the  Home  above  the  skies ; 
He's  greeted  now  by  many  whom  he  bid  that  Home  to  prize, 
And,  with  the  children  whom  he  joy'd  to  gather  to  the  fold, 
He'll  sing  Hosannas  to  the  Lamb,  with  raptures  all  untold. 


62  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

The  Spring  already  whispers  of  the  Resurrection  morn, 
When  in  that  glorious  Spring  of  Life,  he  shall  again  be  born, 
When  the  expectant  creature  earth  shall  render  up  her  trust, 
And  the  enfranchised  spirit  shall  reclaim  its  hallow'd  dust. 


The  funeral  of  Mr.  Matthew  Newkirk  took 
place  from  his  residence  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, June  3,  1868,  at  10  o'clock. 

Appropriate  passages  of  Scripture  were  re- 
peated, and  a  prayer  was  offered  at  the  house  by 
the  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 

The  procession  moved  in  the  following  order 
to  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  (Eighth  and 
Cherry  Streets). 

1.  Polytechnic  College  students. 

2.  Clergymen  of  different  Evangelical  churches 

(about  twenty  in  number). 

3.  The  officiating   clergymen  :     Rev.  A.  Reed, 

D.  D.,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Drs.  John 
Maclean,  W.  Henry  Green,  and  Charles 
W.  Shields,  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

4.  The  elders  of  the  church  as  pall-bearers. 

5.  The  colored  men-servants  of  the  family. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  63 

6.  The  family  and  relatives  (in  carriages). 

7.  The  deacons  and  trustees  of  the  church. 

8.  The  teachers  of  the  Sabbath  schools. 

9.  Societies    and    associations    with  which  Mr. 

Newkirk  was  connected. 

10.  A  large  number  of  citizens. 

The  services  at  the  church  were  as  follows: — 

Voluntary  on  the  organ — (Dirge). 

Singing  by  the  choir — "  Come,  ye  disconsolate." 

Prayer  by  Rev.  John  Maclean,  D.  D.,  President 
of  Princeton  College. 

Reading  selections  from  the  Scriptures,  by  Rev. 
J.  M.  Crowell,  D.  D. 

Singing — "  I  would  not  live  alway." 

Address  by  Rev.  Alexander  Reed,  D.  D. — Pastor. 

Singing — "How  blest  the  righteous  when  he 
dies." 

Remarks  by  Rev.  Prof.  W.  H.  Green,  D.  D.— 
Ex-pastor  of  the  church. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Prof.  C.  W.  Shields,  D.  D.— Ex- 
pastor  of  the  Second  Church. 

Benediction  by  Rev.  Dr.  Green. 

Singing  by  the  choir — "  Unveil  thy  bosom." 


64       A  MEMORIAL  OF  MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 

(The  lid  of  the  coffin  was  then  removed,  and 
those  who  were  present  passed  around  it  and 
took  a  last  look  at  the  deceased.) 

The  interment  took  place  at  Laurel  Hill 
Cemetery.  At  the  grave  Dr.  Reed  offered  a 
prayer,  and  Dr.  Maclean  pronounced  the  bene- 
diction. 

"And  so  He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep." 
"  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints." 


ADDRESS 


OF  THE 


Rev.  ALEXANDER  REED,  D.  D. 


ADDRESS 


[The  Rev.  Alexander  Reed,  D.  D.,  made  the  following 
address,  which  is  given  just  as  it  was  delivered,  without  having 
been  revised  or  altered.] 

Less  than  two  short  months  ago  we  were 
gathered  here,  amid  similar  scenes,  for  the  same 
sad  service.  Here  lay  an  elder  of  the  church, 
and  just  yonder  sat  another  elder,  among  the 
mourners  ;  and  he  now  lies  here ! 

Two  venerable  servants  of  God — office-bearers 
in  this  house — overseers  for  this  fold — intimately 
identified  with  this  church  through  its  entire 
history — universally  known  as  our  most  active 
and  efficient  co-workers — both  asleep!  both  gone 
from  us  to  glory  within  sixty  days !  "  The 
fathers — where  are  they?" 

It  is  not  strange  we  weep  to-day.  We  are 
desolate  and  sad — very,  very  desolate !  We  come 
like  orphan  children  into  this  place  this  morn- 


68  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

ing;  for  "since  the  fathers  fell  asleep"  all  around 
seems  dreary  and  full  of  gloom.  Truly  as  a 
family  of  mourners — enduring  "sorrow  upon 
sorrow,"  we  sit  to-day  again  around  the  coffin. 

Then  we  sorrowed  over  the  departure  of  Mr. 
Barnes — a  father  and  brother  beloved  in  the 
Lord ;  and  to-day ',  one  who  was  born  about  two 
months  sooner,  and  taken  away  by  a  better  birth 
two  months  later,  lies  before  us — whose  name  is 
a  household  word  wherever  this  church  of  God 
is  known. 

Then  Dr.  Green,  his  former  pastor  and  yours, 
clearly  and  tenderly,  with  a  loving  heart,  re- 
viewed that  character  and  life  so  eminently  pure 
and  true  and  zealous ;  and  to-day  it  is  my  sad 
privilege  to  remind  you  briefly  concerning  this 
life  now  ended,  and  recount  a  little,  as  we  linger 
here,  the  goodness  of  God  to  him  and  to  us  as  He 
made  use  of  him.  Not  that  I  would  glorify  our 
departed  friend  and  father — oh  no! — but  I  would 
"magnify  the  grace  of  God  which  was  in  him," 
which  made  him  what  he  was  that  was  admira- 
ble. It  is  of  the  grace  of  God  as  here  exhibited, 
of  which  I  speak  to  you. 

On  the  last  day  of  spring  1794  Matthew  New- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  69 

kirk  was  born  in  Pittsgrove,  New  Jersey.  After 
sixteen  years  of  country  life  with  his  parents, 
Cornelius  and  Abigail  H.  Newkirk,  he  came  to 
this  city  in  the  year  18 10,  and  for  more  than 
half  a  century  has  been  identified  with  Philadel- 
phia. 

In  business  he  was  pre-eminently  successful ; 
and  amid  all  the  changes  of  fortune  of  an  event- 
ful life  never  lost  his  buoyancy  of  spirit  or  in- 
domitable energy. 

He  occupied  many  important  stations  and 
posts  of  responsibility,  as  I  learn  more  and  more 
from  the  public  prints.  He  was  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and 
Baltimore  Railroad ;  a  Director  of  the  United 
States  Bank ;  and  one  of  the  city  Council  Com- 
mittee to  erect  Girard  College. 

Mr.  Newkirk  was  also  very  active  in  promot- 
ing the  moral,  literary,  and  religious  interests  of 
the  community.  He  was  for  a  long  time  identi- 
fied with  the  temperance  reform,  and  President 
of  the  State  Society.  For  a  period  of  years  he 
gave  the  use  of  a  public  hall  for  free  preaching 
— especially  for  the  benefit  of  young  men. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  President  of 


7° 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


the  Pennsylvania  State  Sabbath  School  Associa- 
tion, the  oldest  Trustee  of  Princeton  College, 
and  the  President  of  the  Polytechnic  College  of 
this  State. 

He  was  also  interested  in  the  boards  of  our 
church — most  of  them  from  their  organization 
— giving  part  of  an  afternoon  almost  every  week 
to  some  of  their  different  meetings  and  commit- 
tees. 

But  it  is  in  his  character  as  a  Christian  that 
we  find  the  most  suitable  points  for  contempla- 
tion on  an  occasion  such  as  this. 

All  other  relations  cease  with  the  coffin,  but 
those  which  bind  a  man  to  his  Creator,  God, 
and  Saviour  only  attain  their  full  fruition  when 
eternity  begins. 

Our  beloved  friend  and  father  was  an  avowed 
follower  of  Christ  for  almost  thirty-six  years. 
His  first  religious  impressions  date  far  beyond 
this,  but  his  public  consecration  of  himself  to 
Christ  was  in  this  organization  (before  this 
edifice  was  erected),  in  the  Academy  building 
December  13,  1832.  Once  in  his  earlier  life 
his  spirit  was  deeply  moved  by  the  words  of  a 
hymn  read  in  the  evening  service  of  the  First 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  7 1 

(Presbyterian)    Church    by   the    venerable    Dr. 
Wilson — especially  the  words: — 

1  'My  soul,  the  minutes  haste  away; 
Apace  comes  on  th'  important  day, 
When  in  the  icy  arms  of  death 
I  must  give  up  my  vital  breath. 

"When  vast  eternity's  in  sight; 
The  brightest  day,  the  blackest  night ; 
One  shock  will  break  the  building  down 
And  let  thee  into  worlds  unknown." 

But  the  immediate  instrumentality  God  used  for 
his  being  brought  into  the  fold  was  not  a  ser- 
mon, but  a  conversation  with  the  Rev.  Dr. 
James  W.  Alexander  in  a  .carriage  on  the  way 
to  church,  when,  in  answer  to  all  questions  and 
doubts  and  excuses,  the  Dr.  earnestly  replied  : 
"What  is  that  to  thee?  follow  thou  me!"  This 
was  the  turning  point  in  his  spiritual  history.  He 
resolved  now,  like  Joshua — "let  others  do  as 
they  may,  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will 
serve  the  Lord." 

His  dearly  loved  friend  and  Pastor,  Mr.  San- 
ford,  often  urged  upon  him  "the  great  ques- 
tion," but  his  favorite  apology  was  that  being 


72  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

intensely  engaged  in  business  life  he  feared  he 
would  be  inconsistent  and  thus  do  harm. 

But  God  led  him  to  see  the  fallacy  of  such 
reasoning,  and  to  cast  himself  solely  upon  Divine 
grace ;  and  he  was  sustained  and  upheld  to  the 
last. 

For,  while  he  had  his  infirmities  and  sins, 
against  which  to  battle — and  none  more  con- 
scious of  them  than  he  or  more  ready  to  confess 
them — yet,  nevertheless,  by  the  grace  of  God  he 
was  enabled  to  maintain  a  consistent,  earnest, 
devoted,  Christian  life  to  the  end  of  the  pil- 
grimage. 

Any  one  who  reflects  a  moment  will  appre- 
ciate the  statement  that  no  man  can  be  guilty  of 
being  eminently  successful  in  this  world  in  any 
department  of  life,  without  incurring  the  envy 
and  enmity  and  usually  the  cruel  censure  of 
other  less  fortunate  strugglers. 

Whether  statesman  or  soldier,  merchant  or 
even  minister  at  the  altar — if  he  conspicuously 
succeeds — he  will  inevitably  and  certainly  bring 
upon  himself  the  tongue  of  slander  and  sinister 
defamation.  The  world  furnishes  no  exception 
to  this  law.     Mr.  Newkirk  was  not  an  exception, 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


72 


any  more  than  the  blessed  Master  he  served;  yet 
few  men  have  lived,  amid  the  heat  and  strife  of 
so  long  and  so  prominent  a  life,  vastly  diversi- 
fied, who  have  closed  a  record  so  universally 
approved.  Never  "  slothful  in  business/'  but 
"  fervent  in  spirit,"  he  endeavored  to  "  serve  the 
Lord."  Abundant  in  labors  in  secular  life,  it  is 
no  figure  to  say  that  one-third  of  his  thoughts  and 
almost  as  much  of  his  life  work  was  given  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  in  the  world;  and  this  zeal  never 
ceased,  until  dissolution  began,  and  the  tired 
exhausted  body  claimed  relief  in  the  sleep  of 
death. 

But  the  occasion  forbids  that  I  should  ex- 
tendedly  analyze  his  Christian  character  and  life 
to-day. 

While  kindred  and  friends  from  various  places 
and  varied  positions  in  life,  in  their  regard  for 
him  we  bury  to-day,  are  gathered  here;  yet  it 
is  chiefly  as  a  church  we  are  assembled  now 
around  this  bier.  As  a  church  we  have  sus- 
tained a  loss ;  a  void  is  here,  that  I  fear  will  be 
vacant  long.  We  are  a  church  of  mourners  here, 
and,  therefore,  in  regard  to  his  relation  to  this 
his  long-loved  church  permit  me  to  utter  a  few 


74 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


words  as  we  commune  together  concerning  our 
common  sorrow. 

He  loved  this  Central  Church.  He  was  Secre- 
tary of  the  meeting  which  organized  it,  just 
thirty-six  years  ago.  And  the  last  prayer  I 
heard  him  offer  on  his  bed  of  death  was  for  the 
continued  blessing  of  God  upon  this  church. 
He  was  always  one  of  its  trustees,  long  the 
President  of  the  Board ;  and  one  of  the  first  Elders 
and  first  Deacons.  And  to  say  that  he  has  done 
more  work  in  the  service  of  this  church  than  any 
man,  living  or  dead,  is  no  unjust  pre-eminence; 
all  conversant  with  the  facts  will  readily  admit  it. 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  his  place 
at  both  the  Wednesday  and  Friday  evening  ser- 
vices was  never  vacant,  unless  illness  or  absence 
from  the  city  rendered  attendance  impossible. 
No  grief,  no  loss,  no  "pressure  of  business"  kept 
him  from  the  place  of  prayer.  Though  fre- 
quently so  busy  as  to  be  obliged  to  return  for 
long  hours  of  work  at  his  store  or  office  after 
service,  yet  business  was  no  excuse  for  absence 
from  the  sanctuary  ;  no  calamity  even  was  made 
a  plea.  He  had  given  himself  to  the  Lord,  and 
that  sleepless  omniscient  eye  alone  knew  how 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  75 

faithfully  he  strove  to  keep  his  vows.  Religion 
was  no  form  with  him,  but  a  living  reality;  and 
earnest  in  all  things  he  was  earnest  in  this. 

In  the  Sabbath  schools  he  was  a  laborious  and 
successful  workman.  Although  connected  with 
the  Sabbath  school  of  the  Second  Church  more 
than  forty  years  ago,  he  did  not  enter  the  schools 
of  this  church  at  its  first  organization;  but  from 
the  day  he  did  enter  it,  until  he  lay  down  to  die, 
his  zeal  and  toil  and  devotion  knew  no  cessation, 
not  even  a  relaxing,  until  God  said,  "It  is 
enough,  come  up  higher !" 

What  memories  are  awakened  in  many  full 
hearts  here  to  day,  when  that  loved  upper  room 
and  its  scenes  are  recalled  !  How  he  labored 
there !  How  he  exhorted,  and  advised,  and 
stimulated,  and  warned,  and  encouraged  there ! 
What  laudable  pride  he  took  in  the  character 
of  that  school !  How  heartily  he  disapproved 
of  apathy  or  laggard  interest  on  the  part  of  any 
teacher  or  pupil !  How  nobly  he  "  magnified  his 
office"  as  a  model  superintendent!  It  was  no 
reluctant  duty-driven  service,  but  a  whole-hearted, 
cheerfully-accepted  privilege ;  and  he  honored 
the  post  as  it  honored  him. 


76  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

It  was  said  of  the  pulpit  of  godly  Baxter  : 
"There  Baxter  wept!"  and  of  the  lamented  Dr. 
Payson  it  is  said,  one  of  his  people  pointed  to 
the  pulpit  and  remarked,  "There  Payson 
prayed !"  So  of  that  school  room  it  may  be 
told,  "  There  Matthew  Newkirk  served 7" 

And  of  later  years  few  knew  how  often  he 
was  obliged  to  rest  again  and  again  on  those  long 
stairs,  as  he  feebly  climbed  his  way  thither  and 
there  to  work.  And  the  last  time  he  stood  there, 
a  fortnight  ago,  only  one  perhaps  knew  that  he 
was  led  there  faint  and  almost  blind ;  and  then, 
in  "  those  last  words"  how  he  urged  renewed 
diligence,  and  zeal,  and  ardor,  and  referred  to 
himself  as  about  to  begin  afresh  with  more  life 
and  vigor  than  ever.  The  scene — the  sequel 
render  the  words  remarkable ;  may  they  never 
be  forgotten !  It  was  like  the  dying  soldier 
leader  falling  at  the  front — crying  to  his  com- 
rades, "On!  on!  on!  hold  up  the  banner!  press 
on  in  the  fight !" 

Ah,  yes,  our  Sabbath  schools  lost  a  noble 
leader  this  week  when  he  died  !  The  church 
has  lost  heavily  in  every  department  of  her  wor- 
ship and  work. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  77 

I  need  not  speak  of  his  abundant  aid  in  all  the 
finances  of  the  church.  There  is  not  time,  nor 
is  it  in  place  to-day.  He  loved  this  church  with 
an  ardor  that  has  often  astonished  the  apathetic 
and  indifferent.  He  could  much  more  easily 
bear  a  personal  reflection  than  one  upon  this 
church.  He  could  scarcely  forget  it,  or  forgive 
it;  as  he  once  expressed  it,  "it  was  an  almost 
unpardonable  sin  to  attempt  to  wrong  that 
church.,,  He  loved  these  walls ;  and  surely  he 
verified  the  Psalmist's  words:  "Pray  for  the 
peace  of  Jerusalem  :  they  shall  prosper  that  love 
thee."  And  are  not  these  words  also  truly  appli- 
cable and  most  appropriate  : — 

"  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall ; 
For  her  my  prayers  ascend  ; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end." 

Yes,  this  was  all  true  of  him.  For  in  the  last 
extended  conversation  I  had  with  him  on  that 
bed  of  death  he  remarked,  with  deepest  emotion, 
"  Next  to  my  family,  that  dear  church  has  the 
first  place  in  my  heart." 

The    present    flourishing     condition    of    the 


78  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

church,  the  revival  of  God's  work,  the  unprece- 
dented large  membership  and  attendance,  its 
entire  freedom  from  debt,  and  its  present  bene- 
ficence gave  him  profound  comfort  and  gratifi- 
cation to  his  last  conscious  hour. 

And  now  his  work  is  ended !  He  has  left 
this  lower  sphere  and  service.  He  has  gone  up 
higher,  to  join  the  elders  who  preceded  him  and 
all  "  the  elders  round  the  throne."  And  he 
leaves  this  work  in  your  hands  and  mine. 

His  matchless  and  unwearied  service  for  the 
Master  in  our  church,  as  elsewhere,  is  all  of  the 
past.     He  has  surely  done  what  he  could. 

Seized  suddenly  by  violent  inflammatory  dis- 
ease in  the  night  of  Thursday,  May  21st,  the 
wisest  medical  skill  could  not  resist  God's  mes- 
senger ;  and  after  an  illness  of  ten  days — full  of 
years  and  full  of  labors — he  "  fell  on  sleep,"  and 
is  now  "  gathered  to  his  fathers."  So  severe 
were  his  sufferings  at  times,  and  so  excessive  the 
prostration  that  conversation  with  him  could  not 
be  at  any  time  very  extended.  But  enough  was 
spoken  to  give  abundant  assurance  of  his  confi- 
dent hope — of  his  being  safely  sheltered  by  the 
"  Rock  of  Ages,"  his  long-loved  Saviour. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  79 

At  the  close  of  a  prayer  by  his  pastor,  he  led 
the  singing  of  one  verse  of  the  hymn — 

"Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove, 
With  all  Thy  quickening  powers, 
Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love 
In  these  cold  hearts  of  ours." 

At  another  time,  when  asked,  "Are  you  dread- 
ing death  ?"  he  earnestly  replied,  "  Not  at  all, 
not  at  all;  I  gave  myself  to  Jesus  long,  long  ago; 
and  I  hope  I  am  not  mistaken!" 

It  was  an  impressive  coincidence  that  he  died 
not  only  on  his  seventy -fourth  birthday,  the  last 
day  of  spring,  but  also  that  it  was  the  Holy  Sab- 
bath, and  just  as  the  clock  was  striking  six — the 
hour  when  workmen  close  their  labors,  toil  ends, 
and  rest  begins. 

His  life  toil  is  ended — the  worker  is  released. 
He  worked  while  the  day  lasted  and  the  night 
has  come.  The  great  bell  of  eternity  has  rung 
and  he  has  gone  home  to  rest !  The  endless 
rest  is  his !  a  long,  bright,  blessed  Sabbath  day 
that  shall  not  end. 

Friend  and  father,  farewell !  We'll  meet  you 
on  the  other  shore ! 


80  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

We,  my  brethren,  still  remain  to  toil.  We 
shall  go  home  also,  but  not  now.  Here  we 
must  work  and  wait. 

"One  little  hour  !  and  then  the  glorious  crowning — 
The  golden  harp-strings  and  the  victor's  palm, 
One  little  hour !  and  then  the  Hallelujah  ! 
Eternity's  long,  deep,  thanksgiving  psalm  !" 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  8  I 


The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church,  New  York  city,  preached 
in  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia, when  the  feeling  of  congregational 
bereavement  was  still  strong  and  fresh.  His 
subject  was  Christian  activity,  having  its  source 
in  the  love  of  God  and  its  power  in  living  faith. 
In  the  application  of  the  principles  he  had  en- 
forced and  illustrated  from  the  Scriptures  he 
said : — 

"  My  brethren  of  this  congregation !  I  feel 
that  I  may  speak  to  you  with  confidence  on  this 
subject,  for  God  has  already  been  speaking  to 
you  in  His  providences.  He  has  come  into  your 
midst,  and  taken  one  from  among  you  who 
appeared  to  me  to  act  on  these  principles  with 
conspicuous  fidelity ;  one  whose  efforts  were  not 
casual  and  spasmodic,  but  sustained  and  con- 
stant ;  one  whose  zeal  did  not  pass  away  with 
the  ardor  of  youth,  but  who  bore  fruit  in  old 
age ;  one  who  maintained  to  advanced  years  the 
6 


82        A  MEMORIAL  OF  MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 

fervor  and  joyful  eagerness  of  his  earlier  time,  in 
the  Sabbath  school  and  every  other  congrega- 
tional labor,  and  in  a  wide  range  of  activity  out- 
side. He  is  here  no  more.  You  will  not  again 
see  his  form  among  you.  Measuring  your  feel- 
ings that  have  grown  with  long  years  by  mine 
that  are  founded  on  a  comparatively  brief 
acquaintance,  I  can  conceive  how  you  feel. 

"But  my  object  is  not  to  awaken  mere  human 
tenderness,  but  to  enforce  on  conscience  the 
claims  of  duty.  Who  will  step  into  the  vacant 
space?  Who  will  hasten  to  fill  up  the  ranks? 
Brethren,  beloved,  who  of  you  will  be  baptized 
for  the  dead?" 


LETTERS 


CONDOLENCE. 


LETTERS. 


[N.  B.— I  take  the  liberty  of  inserting  extracts  of  letters  sent 
to  the  family  after  the  decease  of  Mr.  Newkirk,  because  they 
express  the  judgments  of  others  upon  his  character,  work,  and 
life — and  give  such  estimates  of  him  as  would  seem  not  only  in- 
delicate, but  even  partial  and  prejudiced  if  expressed  by  the 
author.] 

From  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Green,  D.  D.,  Prof,  in 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Ex-pastor  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Philadelphia. 

Princeton, 
June  s,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

I  had  no  opportunity  to  see  or  speak  with 
you  when  I  was  in  the  city,  and  could  not  say 
to  you  how  deeply  I   sympathize  in   your  deep 


86  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

affliction,  which  is  a  public  loss  no  less  than  a 
private  and  domestic  sorrow.  I  could  never 
sufficiently  express  my  own  personal  indebted- 
ness to  Mr.  Newkirk  for  his  uniform  kindness 
to  me  from  the  moment  of  our  earliest  acquaint- 
ance. His  counsel  and  his  aid,  his  generous 
support,  his  thoughtful  considerateness,  his 
kindly  attentions  during  the  term  of  my  resi- 
dence in  the  city  were  invaluable  to  me  and  laid 
me  under  untold  obligations.  His  importance 
to  the  Central  Church  as  an  Elder,  a  Trustee,  a 
Superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school,  his  effi- 
ciency in  sustaining  it  and  advancing  its  interests 
and  the  greatness  of  the  loss  it  has  sustained  in 
his  removal,  the  loss  in  fact  to  the  boards  of  our 
church,  and  to  the  whole  Christian  community, 
and  to  every  benevolent  and  holy  enterprise  you 
know  full  as  well  as  I. 

His  personal  relations  to  myself  were  most 
kindly  to  the  last.  We  remember  his  last  visit 
to  Princeton  (April  28,  1868),  when  he  partici- 
pated in  the  election  of  the  future  President  of 
the  College,  with  peculiar  pleasure.  We  urged 
him  to  make  his  stay  with  us.  This  he  declined 
on  account  of  the  superior  convenience  of  lodg- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  87 

ing  with  Dr.  Maclean,  which  was  nearer  the 
place  of  meeting.  But  he  dined  with  us.  And 
the  cordiality  of  his  whole  manner,  the  gene- 
rous warmth  with  which  he  pressed  us  to  visit 
him  in  the  city,  and  the  lively  interest  he  mani- 
fested, deeply  touched  our  hearts.  I  noticed 
then  with  pain  his  growing  feebleness ;  and 
could  not  but  fear  that  he  was  gradually  failing. 
I  had  no  suspicion,  however,  that  the  end  was 
so  nigh  as  it  has  proved  to  be.  May  the  God 
of  all  grace  and  of  all  comfort  sustain  you  in 
your  deep  affliction,  in  that  darkness  and  loneli- 
ness so  peculiar  to  just  such  a  bereavement  as 
this,  which  nothing  but  His  own  heavenly  light 
can  irradiate,  and  His  own  blessed  companion- 
ship alone  can  cheer.  With  the  deepest  and 
most  tender  sympathy, 

I  am,  yours  truly, 

W.  HENRY  GREEN. 


88  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

From  Rev.  E.  P.  Humphrey,  D.  D. 

Louisville,  Kentucky, 
'June  10,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

Will  you  allow  me  to  take  a  place  among 
the  many  thousands  of  God's  people  who  unite 
in  blessing  the  memory  of  your  venerable  hus- 
band? I  counted  him  as  among  my  most 
honored  and  valued  friends.  But  what  is  more, 
the  whole  church  to  which  he  belonged  and 
which  he  served  so  faithfully,  throughout  the 
whole  land,  counted  him  as  one  of  its  standard 
bearers,  a  man  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
It  would  be  useless  for  me  to  point  out  to  you 
the  sources  from  which  you  may  take  abundant 
consolation  in  this  bereavement.  Great  is  your 
loss— how  much  greater  his  gain ! 

That  the  great  Head  of  the  church  may 
minister  to  you  the  grace  of  consolation,  and 
every  grace  springing  from  the  hope,  and  look- 
ing unto  the  renewal  of  life  eternal  is  the  fer- 
vent wish  of  thousands.  As  one  of  these  I 
Your  faithful  friend, 
EDWARD  P.  HUMPHREY. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  89 

From  Rev.  Theo.  Ledyard  Cuyler,  D.  D., 
Pastor  of  La  Fayette  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

136  Oxford  Street,  Brooklyn, 
June  4,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

For  many  a  day  I  have  not  read  the 
announcement  of  the  death  of  any  friend  with 
as  much  sadness  as  I  felt  to-day  when  I  heard 
that  your  beloved  husband  is  no  more. 

I  recall  now  the  pleasant  hours  I  spent  with 
him  in  past  years,  and  the  evening  last  winter 
when  we  sat  up  till  midnight  to  talk  over  those 
great  questions  of  religion  and  reform  in  which 
he  felt  so  deep  an  interest.  God  has  taken  away 
no  more  faithful  servant  than  he  from  His 
bereaved  Church  for  a  long  time;  your  husband 
has  indeed  gone  as  u  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe" 
to  his  rest  and  his  reward. 

Accept  my  most  heartfelt  sympathies  in  your 
bereavement,  and  present  them  to  my  brother 
and  co-worker,  Mr.  Matthew  Newkirk,  Jr. 
May  he  long  be  spared  to  preach  Jesus ! 

I  have  just  sent  a  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  New- 


90  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

kirk  to  our  "  National  Temperance  Advocate" 
in  New  York.  Amid  the  many  who  mourn 
the  departure  of  your  honored  husband,  to  none 
will  his  memory  be  more  bright  and  sacred  than 
to  Your  friend  and  his, 

THEODORE  L.  CUYLER. 


From  the  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.  D.,  LL.D., 
inclosing  the  letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  Stearns, 
Moderator,  and  the  Resolutions  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  session 
at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  1868. 

Allegheny,  Pennsylvania, 
June  8,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

I  beg  the  liberty  to  inclose  to  you  the 
accompanying  letter  received  from  Rev.  Dr.  J. 
F.  Stearns,  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly 
(New  School).  I  addressed  to  him  a  telegram 
of  our  dear  Mr.  Newkirk's  death  which  he 
promptly  announced  to  the  Assembly.  He  has 
also  expressed  his  personal  esteem  for  our  de- 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  9 1 

parted  one  and  his  sympathy  for  you  and  yours 
in  very  admirable  terms. 

I  have  inclosed  to  you  the  Resolutions  passed 
by  the  State  Sabbath  School  Convention  assem- 
bled in  Pittsburg,  in  accordance  with  a  despatch 
which  I  sent  of  the  news  to  the  President  of 
the  County  Association  here.  Besides  the  Reso- 
lutions, the  most  express  and  special  tributes 
were  paid  to  the  deceased  president,  by  promi- 
nent members  from  different  parts  of  the  State; 
and  at  the  hour  of  his  funeral,  the  convention 
joined  in  singing  "  I  would  not  live  alway"  while 
it  was  sung,  you  remember,  at  the  church  in  the 
funeral  service.  It  is  truly  gratifying  to  his 
family  and  connections  that  such  reverent 
respect  was,  and  is,,  paid  to  his  precious  memory. 

I  preached  yesterday  morning  in  reference  to 
him  from  the  text  in  Revelations  xiv.  13:  "And 
I  heard  a  voice  from  Heaven  saying  unto  me, 
Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead,"  &c. 
Fondly  yours, 

M.  W.  JACOBUS. 


92  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Newark,  New  Jersey, 
June  3,  1868. 
My  dear  Sir. 

Your  telegram  announcing  the  decease 
of  our  esteemed  and  valued  friend,  Matthew 
Newkirk,  Esq.,  was  received  with  sadness,  and  I 
took  a  mournful  pleasure  in  complying  with 
your  request.  It  certainly  required  no  apology, 
for  he  had  numerous  friends  everywhere.  To 
myself  one  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  my  con- 
nection with  the  Board  of  Trustees  (Princeton 
College),  has  been  the  opportunity  it  afforded 
for  frequent  intercourse  with  one  so  wise,  so 
warm-hearted,  so  genial,  so  devoted  to  the  inte- 
rests intrusted  to  us,  so  eminent  in  all  the  quali- 
ties of  the  truly  Christian  gentleman. 

Please  express,  when  you  have  opportunity, 
my  warmest  sympathies  to  Mrs.  Newkirk,  and 
the  bereaved  son  and  daughter.  If  it  is  sad  to 
part  with  one  so  valued,  it  is  cheering  to  reflect 
that  after  a  life  of  distinguished  fidelity  he  is 
safe  home  in  the  house  of  his  heavenly  Father. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

J.  F.  STEARNS. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  93 

From    Rev.    Dr.    Denham,  of   Londonderry, 
Ireland. 

Derry, 
August,  6,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

On  Monday  last  I  returned  home  after 
an  absence  of  four  months,  during  which  time 
I  have  been  laid  aside  from  work  under  the  hand 
of  that  all  wise  and  loving  Master  who  has  a 
sovereign  right  to  say  to  any  or  all  His  servants, 
"  go  and  work,"  or  "  cease  from  working."  A 
few  days  before  my  return  I  had  a  newspaper 
with  the  beautiful  and  appropriate  lines  written 
by  Dr.  Jacobus  inclosed,  which  announced  the 
sad  loss  you  have  sustained  in  the  removal  of  him 
with  whom  you  had  journeyed  for  so  many  years 
through  the  weary  wilderness  of  this  world. 
Since  the  return  of  my  beloved  wife  and  myself 
from  your  great  and  highly  favored  country  oft 
have  we  been  speaking  of  its  institutions  and  its 
people,  but  of  none  more  frequently  or  with 
more  pleasure  and  feelings  of  gratitude  than  of 
our  friends  in  Philadelphia,  and  very  specially 
of  yourself  and  your  venerable  and  noble  hearted 


94 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


husband.  Often  during  the  past  year  has  it  been 
my  privilege  to  address  meetings  in  which  I  was 
expected  to  give  details  of  the  work  which  I 
saw  carried  on  for  Christ  and  His  cause  in 
America,  and  on  such  occasions,  when  speaking 
of  the  labors  undertaken,  especially  by  the  lay 
members  of  the  churches,  my  memory  almost 
invariably  called  up  the  benevolent  countenance 
and  the  untiring  zeal  of  the  venerated  and  be- 
loved patriarch  in  whose  hospitable  mansion  it 
was  our  privilege  to  abide  while  in  your  city, 
and  who,  under  the  power  of  Christian  love, 
while  directing  and  managing  the  important 
work  of  so  many  active  teachers  in  your  great 
Sabbath  school,  seemed  to  forget  or  not  to  feel 
the  weakness  or  weariness  usually  experienced 
in  old  age.  Now  His  Master's  voice  has  been 
heard  saying,  "  Come  up  hither,"  and  we  may 
at  least  try  and  conceive  of  the  unutterable  joy 
with  which  his  emancipated  spirit  replied,  "  I 
come — I  come."  Though  enjoying  one  of  the 
happiest  homes  on  earth,  made  largely  so  by 
your  loving  care,  yet  better  than  any  on  earth 
are  the  mansions  of  which  Christ  once  said,  "  I 
go  to  prepare  them  for  my  disciples."     And, 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  95 

now,  dear  sister,  while  I  know  you  mourn,  it  is 
not,  thanks  be  to  our  Redeeming  God,  as  those 
who  have  no  hope ;  but  you  can  look  on  in  full 
assurance  that  you  shall  meet  again  with  him 
you  loved  so  long,  and  will  love  forever,  and 
with  whom  you  will  take  part  in  songs  even 
sweeter  than  you  sang  together  on  earth. 

I  am  ever  your  grateful  friend,  and  brother  in 
Christ, 

JAMES  DENHAM. 

2  Timothy  iv.   22. 


From  Mrs.  Dr.  J, 


Dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 


June  6,  1868. 


.  .  .  .  My  dear  bereaved  friend !  how  can 
words  express  my  feeling  for  your  loss,  and  my 
heartfelt  sympathy  in  your  great  sorrow  ?  The 
void  made  in  your  home,  I  know,  is  irreparable; 
nothing  earthly  can  ever  fill  it ;  but  think  what 
he  was,  what  he  accomplished — though  it  makes 


96  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

your  loss  the  greater,  does  it  not  make  your  con- 
solations more  exceedingly  abound  ?  Oh,  his 
gain!  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant; 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord!"  Can  we 
even  conceive  the  fulness  of  his  joy — satisfied, 
for  he  has  "  awaked  in  his  Saviour's  likeness." 
We  cannot  mourn  for  him,  but  we  may  mourn 
for  ourselves.  I  ask  the  privilege  of  mingling 
my  tears  with  yours,  for  I  do  indeed  feel  bereaved. 
I  shall  ever  cherish  with  gratitude  the  memory 
of  my  sojourn  with  you  last  fall.  How  much 
I  saw  Mr.  Newkirk,  and  how  much  I  learned 
to  love  him !  How  lovely  was  his  Christian 
home  character;  how  strong  and  unwavering  his 
love  for  the  Saviour's  cause ;  how  generous  his 
hospitality  ;  how  ardent  and  helpful  his  sympa- 
thy for  the  poor  and  the  distressed  ;  how  tender 
his  interest  in  woman,  her  weakness,  her  suffer- 
ings, her  wrongs !  In  no  one  else  have  I  ever 
seen  this  trait  so  beautifully  developed,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  then  as  the  finishing  touch  to  his 
Christian  symmetrical  character.  I  cannot  think 
of  him  as  dead.  I  remember  him  as  the  patient 
Christian,  suffering  under  the  infirmities  of  the 
flesh  ;    and  now  I  love  to  think  of  him  as  a 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK 


97 


"redeemed  saint"  among  the  "hundred  and 
forty  and  four  thousand"  having  the  Father's 
name  written  in  their  foreheads  and  singing 
that  song,  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain." 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their 
works  do  follow  them." 

With  sincerest  love  and  sympathy,  yours, 

S.  H.  J. 


From  Rev.  J.  H.  Mcllvaine,  D.  D.,  Profes- 
sor in  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

Princeton, 
June  5,  1868. 
My  dear  Madam. 

It  is  with  sincere  and  deep  grief  that  I 
have  learned  of  the  decease  of  Mr.  Newkirk. 
....  It  was  my  earnest  hope  that  Mr.  New- 
kirk would  rally  from  his  physical  depression  of 
this  winter,  and  enjoy  many  more  years  of  his 
7 


98  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

useful  and  honored  life.  But  God's  ways  are  not 
our  ways,  nor  His  thoughts  our  thoughts.  One 
great  and  unspeakable  consolation  is  that  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  His 
ways  higher  than  our  ways  and  His  thoughts 
than  our  thoughts.  No  doubt  God  took  His 
servant  to  Himself  at  the  very  moment  of  time 
when  it  was  best  for  him  that  he  should  go. 
He  had  enjoyed  a  long  and  distinguished  life, 
such  as  few  men  have  ever  had.  Especially  was 
it  distinguished  for  devotion  to  the  Master  and 
His  cause.  I  think  it  was  impossible  to  know 
your  honored  husband  and  not  be  assured  that 
the  ruling  passion  of  his  life  was  the  desire  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
on  earth.  This  desire  seemed  to  animate  him 
in  all  his  plans  and  activities ;  and  in  order  to 
realize  it,  he  brought  to  bear  all  the  powers  of 
his  extraordinary  mind.  Among  all  the  traits  of 
his  rich  and  varied  character,  none  was  so  strik- 
ing as  that  of  Christian  activity,  directed  and 
controlled  by  mental  abilities  of  remarkable 
power.  I  think  if  we  could  separate  from  the 
church  of  God  all  that  has  been  accomplished 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  99 

by  your    husband,   directly  and    indirectly,  we 
should  hardly  know  it  as  the  same  church.    .     . 

I  am  faithfully  yours, 

J.  H.  McILVAINE. 


From  Rev.  D.  A.  Cunningham,  Pastor  of  the 
Spring  Garden  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadel- 
phia. 

Dear  Madam. 

It  can  be  truly  said  of  him  (Mr. 

Newkirk),  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord ;  they  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their 
works  do  follow  them."  I  was  present  at  the 
last  commencement  of  Princeton  College,  and 
Mr.  Newkirk  and  I  came  home  together.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  delightful  Christian  con- 
versation we  had ;  and  he  seemed  to  me  then 
like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe  for  the  garners  of 
glory.  He  spoke  about  many  things  in  his  own 
Christian  experience — also,  about  the  interests  of 
the  College,  and  the  precious  revivals  that  had 


lOO  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

been  in  old  "  Nassau  Hall" — also  about  the  joy 
it  afforded  him  that  his  son  had  given  himself  to 
the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  Little  did  I 
think  then  that  before  the  next  commencement 
he  would  be  in  the  land  of  "  Beulah,"  the  home 
of  the  redeemed.  We  shall  miss  him  in  our 
church  courts  on  earth,  in  our  benevolent  insti- 
tutions, and  in  the  generous  warm-hearted  hos- 
pitality which  he  ever  manifested  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  Thanks 
be  unto  God  for  the  life  and  labors  of  such  a 
faithful  servant  on  earth. 
Yours  sincerely, 

DAVID  A.  CUNNINGHAM. 


From  Rev.  Alfred  Cookman,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church. 

Wilmington,  Delaware, 
June  i,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

I  have  just  seen  the  announcement  of  the 
death  of  your  dearly  beloved  husband.     He  was 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  ioi 

one  of  my  kindest  and  best  friends.  Whenever 
or  wherever  I  met  him  he  had  some  encourag- 
ing or  affectionate  word  to  express.  My  recol- 
lections of  him  are  peculiarly  pleasant.  Sharing 
then  the  sense  of  bereavement  that  is  so  gene- 
rally felt,  I  obey  a  Christian  impulse  in  express- 
ing to  you  my  high  appreciation  of  his  many 
virtues,  and  my  deep  sympathy  for  you  and 
yours  in  this  hour  of  unprecedented  trial.     .     . 

.  .  Your  husband's  life  was  a  great  success. 
As  I  think  of  it  I  cannot  withhold  the  senti- 
ment, "Well  done!  good  and  faithful  servant !" 
In  the  front  rank  of  the  sacramental  host — a 
veteran  in  the  service  of  salvation's  captain — 
always  true  to  his  colors,  he  was  faithful  to 
the  last,  and  died  with  the  armor  on,  covered 
with  the  glory  that  cometh  down  from  God. 
Susanna  Wesley  said,  "  When  I  am  dead  let  my 
children  gather  'round  my  bed  and  sing  a  Psalm 
of  praise."  Oh,  as  I  remember  the  blessed  past 
and  glorious  future  of  your  precious  husband, 
my  cherished  friend,  I  cannot  refrain  from  the 
exclamation,  "Glory  to  the  Father  and  to  the 
Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost." 

You   are   highly  favored   among  women — to 


102  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

have  been  the  companion  of  such  an  husband. 

If  it  is  possible  I  want  to  be  present  on  Wed- 
nesday morning  and  drop  a  tear  to  the  memory 

of  one  of  the  best  of  men 

Your  Christian  brother, 

ALFRED  COOKMAN. 


From  the  Rev.  S.  B.  Barnitz,  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
July  23,  1868. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Newkirk. 

If  ever  the  consolations  of  the  gospel 
abounded  in  view  of  death,  they  do  to  you,  and 
you  are  enabled  to  rejoice  amid  your  tears. 
With  Paul,  Mr.  Newkirk  could  say :  "  To  me 
to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain;"  for  his 
whole  life  was  devoted  to  Christ  in  an  unwonted 
degree  for  this  age  of  the  world — and  I  know 
that  "  to  die"  has  been  to  him  infinite  "  gain." 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  103 

All  his  life  he  was  laying  up  treasure  in  Heaven 
— "  durable  riches  and  righteousness" — and  now 
he  has  gone  to  possess  and  enjoy  them.  Death 
has  only  gotten  the  body,  and  that  only  for  a  short 
season — the  Spirit  has  gone  to  be  "  forever  with 
the  Lord."  You  sorrow  not  as  those  without 
hope,  for  the  "  Pilgrim"  has  gone  to  be  "  with 
Christ"  which  is  "  far  better"  than  to  remain 
here  amid  the  groaning  and  travailing  of  a 
burdened  creation.  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man  the  things  that  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  him."  Those  things  Mr.  Newkirk  is 
now  glorying  in,  and  we  may  rather  envy  him 
than  seek  to  bring  him  back.  We  "  shall  go 
to  him  ;  but  he  shall  not  return  to  us !"  .  . 
.  .  .  The  members  of  the  "  Newkirk  class" 
of  my  mission  school  are  doing  well. 

With  true  sympathy,  I  am  very  truly  yours  in 
Christ, 

SAMUEL  B.  BARNITZ. 


RESOLUTIONS 


CONDOLENCE 


RESOLUTIONS. 


Resolutions  adopted  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  sitting  in  Albany,  New  York, 
May,  1868. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  has  heard  with 
deep  emotion  the  announcement  of  the  death  of 
Matthew  Newkirk,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia;  an 
eminent  and  distinguished  Christian  gentleman, 
who  has  during  a  long  and  useful  life,  rendered 
great  and  valuable  services  to  our  church,  as  a 
Trustee  of  the  General  Assembly,  a  Director  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  as 
an  officer  and  member  of  several  of  the  Boards 
of  the  church." 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Stated  Clerk  send  a  copy 
of  this  minute  to  the  family  of  the  deceased." 


108  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

A  true  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Gene 
ral  Assembly,  Monday,  June  i,  1868. 

ALEXANDER  T.  McGILL, 

Stated  Clerk, 


Resolutions  of  the  Session  of  the  Central 
Presbyterian  Church. 

Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

As  a  session  sorely  bereaved,  we  here  record 
our  expression  of  profound  sorrow  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  our  venerable  and  venerated  brother 
Matthew  Newkirk.  Within  two  brief  months 
he  has  been  called  to  follow  our  equally  beloved 
brother,  Rufus  L.  Barnes,  into  the  heavenly 
home  of  eternal  peace. 

We  have  truly  endured  "sorrow  upon  sorrow" 
in  this  second  sad  bereavement.  Yet  we  mourn 
with  hope ;  we  are  not  ignorant  concerning 
them  which  are  asleep ;  we  are  confident  that 
our  loss  is  their  eternal  gain,  and  we  bow  sub- 
missive to  the  will  of  the  Great  Head  of  the 
church,  who  alone  determines  the  period,  as  well 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


109 


as  the  place,  in  which  his  servants  shall  serve 
him. 

In  Matthew  Newkirk  we  ever  recognized  the 
ardent  active  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 
His  brotherly  kindness,  his  energy,  his  wisdom, 
his  devotion,  his  promptitude,  his  earnestness, 
and  his  long-continued  and  unabated  zealous 
service  in  this  church,  in  all  departments  of  its 
work  and  worship  during  his  entire  Christian 
life,  shall  be  ever  cherished  by  us  in  affectionate 
remembrance,  and  intensify  the  grief  we  expe- 
rience in  his  death. 

And  we  devoutly  pray  that  grace  may  be 
given  those  of  us  who  remain,  proportionate 
to  our  increased  duties  and  responsibilities,  and 
that  a  double  portion  of  God's  Spirit  may  be 
granted  us,  that  we  may  be  faithful  overseers — 
that  we  may  imitate  that  which  was  admirable 
in  our  departed  brethren,  and  follow  them  as 
they  followed  Christ,  admonished  thus  deeply 
and  doubly  that  we  too  shall  soon  be  called  to 
give  an  account  of  our  stewardship. 

GEORGE  C.  LANCASTER, 

Clerk  pro  tem. 
Alexander  Reed, 

Moderator. 


IIO  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Resolutions  of  the  Deacons  of  the  Central 
Presbyterian  Church. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Deacons  of  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia, 
held  on  the  first  day  of  June,  1868,  the  follow- 
ing preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted : — 

Whereas  :  it  has  pleased  an  all  wise  and 
merciful  Providence  to  remove  from  the  scene 
of  his  earthly  labor  to  his  heavenly  reward  our 
friend  and  brother  in  Christ,  Matthew  Newkirk, 
for  so  many  years  a  ruling  elder  in  this  church, 
be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  1st.  That  in  this  solemn  dispensation 
of  Divine  providence  we  recognize  the  voice 
of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  calling  us  to 
renewed  earnestness  and  zeal,  in  the  works  of 
faith  and  labors  of  love,  which  were  so  strik- 
ingly characteristic  of  our  Christian  friend  and 
brother. 

Resolved,  2d.  That  his  record  in  connection 
with  this  church,  as  one  of  its  founders  and  as 
an  office  bearer  for  more  than  thirty  years,  is  that 
of  an  earnest  and  faithful  servant  of  our  common 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  i  i  i 

Lord,  and  co-laborer  in  his  vineyard.  And 
while  we  bow  with  unquestioning  submission  to 
this  afflictive  dispensation,  yet  we  cannot  but 
feel  that,  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Newkirk,  our 
church  and  Sabbath  school  suffer  a  loss  which 
we  fear  it  will  be  difficult  to  repair. 

Resolved,  3d.  That  to  his  bereaved  family  we 
extend  our  deepest  sympathies,  and  commend 
them  to  the  tender  and  unfailing  care  of  Him 
who  is  the  God  of  the  widow  and  the  Father  of 
the  fatherless. 

Resolved,  4.  That  these  resolutions  be  entered 

on  the  minutes  of  this  board,  and  a  copy  of  the 

same  be  presented  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

WILLIAM  N.  ATTWOOD, 

President. 
M.  C.  Cadmus, 

Secretary. 


Resolutions  of  the  Trustees  of  the   Central 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the   Central   Presbyterian   Church,    held    on 


112  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Monday  evening,  June  ist,  1868,  the  following 
Preamble  and  Resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  : — 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the*  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  to  call  away  the  venerable  President  of 
this  Board,  who  has  been  identified  with  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  since  its  organiza- 
tion, and  to  whose  faithful  and  efficient  labors 
and  unbounded  liberality  it  is  largely  indebted 
under  God  for  its  present  position  of  influence 
and  power ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  value  of  his 
services  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  his  devotion 
to  the  interest  of  this  Church,  and  his  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  sound  judgment  in  all  our  deli- 
berations. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Matthew 
Newkirk,  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  has 
lost  an  efficient  officer  and  faithful  friend,  whose 
best  powers  of  heart  and  mind,  sanctified  to  the 
work  of  his  Master,  were  cheerfully  devoted  to 
promoting  its  welfare. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the 
memory  of  our  late  President,  we  attend  the 
funeral  in  a  body. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  I  I  3 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  Preamble  and 
Resolutions  be  presented  to  the  widow  and 
family,  with  an  expression  of  our  deep  sympathy 
in  their  sad  bereavement. 

M.  P.  HUTCHINSON, 
President. 
Thomas  Allman, 

Secretary  pro  tern. 


Resolutions  of  the  Sanford  Sabbath  School 
Association. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Sanford  Sabbath  School 
Association,  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church, 
held  June  3,  1868,  the  following  Preamble  and 
Resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : — 

Whereas:  It  has  pleased  God  to  remove  from 
our  midst  our  beloved  and  honored  Superin- 
tendent, Mr.  Matthew  Newkirk,  who  for  many 
years  was  untiring  in  his  work  and  labor  of  love 
amongst  us;  devoting  his  time,  talents,  and 
means  in  promoting  the  growth,  efficiency,  and 
welfare  of  our  Sunday  school ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  hand  of  our 
8 


I  14  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Heavenly  Father  in  this  afflictive  dispensation  of 
His  providence,  and  bow  submissively  to  His 
will. 

.  Resolved,  That  we,  as  Teachers  of  the  Sanford 
Sabbath  School  Association  sincerely  and  de- 
voutly thank  our  Heavenly  Father  for  His  good- 
ness and  loving  kindness  to  us  in  raising  up  and 
giving  to  us,  for  so  long  a  time,  one  who  so 
faithfully  counselled  and  cherished  us ;  who 
cheered  and  encouraged  us  and  our  dear  scholars 
with  words  of  kindness  and  of  love,  and  who 
was  ever  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  every 
time  of  need;  and  in  every  way  zealous  and 
earnest  in  seeking  our  comforts^,  our  happiness, 
and  our  good. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  esteem  it  our  precious 
privilege,  according  to  the  grace  of  God  given 
to  us,  to  seek  more  and  more  to  cultivate  a  spirit 
of  earnest  devotion  to  the  Master,  in  the  work 
which  He  has  given  us  to  do  in  the  Sunday 
school ;  and  that  to  this  end  we  will  cherish  in 
loving  hearts  the  counsels  we  have  received  from 
our  departed  Superintendent ;  praying  that  God 
would  bless  them  to  us,  and  through  us,  to  those 
committed  to  our  care. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  I  I  5 

Resolved,  That  we  convey  to  Mrs.  Newkirk 
and  the  other  members  of  the  family  our  sincere 
and  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  great  loss  which 
they  have  sustained ;  and  commending  them  to 
the  God  of  all  grace  and  consolation,  whom 
they  love  and  serve,  trust  they  will  in  their  ex- 
perience, have  verified  to  them  the  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus — "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless." 

ALEX.  REED, 

President. 
Wm.  Jas.  Attwood, 
Secretary. 


Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Publication. 

The  following  minute  was  adopted  by  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  at  its  annual 
meeting  on  Tuesday,  June  23,  1868. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board,  while  bowing  sub- 
missively to  the  behests  of  infinite  goodness  and 
wisdom,  which  have  within  a  few  years  taken 
away  so  many  of  its  old  and  attached  members, 
hereby  expresses  its  deep  emotions  of  sorrow  at 


I  1 6  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

the  removal  by  death,  on  Sabbath  the  31st  ult., 
at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-four  years,  of 
Matthew  Newkirk,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  who  was 
one  of  the  original  corporators  of  the  Board, 
and  had  been  one  of  its  members  from  its  begin- 
ning until  now.  Always  a  fast  and  generous 
friend  of  the  institution,  he  had  assiduously 
sought  to  promote  its  interests,  and  by  his 
uniform  warmth  of  heart  and  courtesy  of 
manner,  had  greatly  endeared  himself  to  his 
associates  who  now  mourn  his  loss,  as  well  as  to 
the  entire  Presbyterian  church  to  which  he  had 
given  no  small  share  of  his  cares  and  labors. 

Resolved,  That  the  Corresponding  Secretary 
communicate  a  copy  of  this  Minute  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  and  another  copy  to  the 
Presbyterian. 

A  true  copy. 

WILLIAM  E.  SCHENCK, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  I  I J 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Domes- 
tic Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions, held  at  the  Mission  House,  on  the  tenth 
inst.,  the  following  minute  was  adopted,  ordered 
to  be  published,  and  a  copy  sent  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased. 

Whereas:  It  has  pleased  God  to  remove  from 
this  world  our  late  highly-esteemed  associate, 
Mr.  Matthew  Newkirk,  who  was  for  many  suc- 
cessive years  a  member  of  the  Board  ;  a  faithful 
member  of  its  Executive  Committee ;  and  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  records  its  grateful 
testimony  to  the  long  and  useful  service  which 
was  rendered  to  it,  and  through  it  to  the  King- 
dom of  Christ,  by  His  venerable  servant  now 
departed.  And  that  while  we  bow  with  sub- 
mission to  that  sovereign  will  which  has  taken 
him  from  us,  we  remember  with  thankfulness 
to  God,  the  many  years  of  active  zeal  and 
enterprise,  during  which  he  was  enabled  to 
serve  the  church  through  this  Board.  He  was 
punctual  in  his  attendance,  liberal  and  aggres- 

8* 


I  I  8  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

sive  in  his  views,  thoughtful  and  kind  in  his 
sympathy  with  every  faithful  missionary,  and 
always  anxious  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the 
Board,  and  our  country  with  the  tidings  of  Sal- 
vation. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sympathies  to 
the  bereaved  family  of  Mr.  Newkirk  in  this  the 
day  of  their  sorrow. 

Philadelphia,  Augtist  n,  1868. 

(Signed)  JAS.  M.  CROWELL, 

ALEX.  REED, 
C.  W.  ADAMS. 


Resolutions  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Sabbath 
School  Association. 

"Memorial  Resolutions." 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  God  in  his  unerring 
wisdom  to  take  unto  Himself  his  friend  and  ser- 
vant, the  beloved  President  of  this  Association, 
Matthew  Newkirk  : 

Resolved,  That  while  we  cannot  but  have  a 
keen  sense  of  loss  in  being  deprived  of  such  an 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  I  I  9 

efficient,  careful,  and  thorough  helper,  especially 
at  this  point  in  the  Sabbath  school  history  of  the 
State,  we  yet  bow  in  humble  reverence  to  the 
Divine  Will. 

Resolved,  That  we  cherish  the  example  of  our 
departed  brother,  in  his  unaffected  piety;  in  the 
gentleness,  simplicity,  and  purity  of  his  Christian 
character ;  in  his  untiring  activity  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  ;  in  his  tender  love  for  little  children  ; 
in  his  abounding  hospitality  to  all  the  friends  of 
Christ,  without  distinction,  and  unstinted  liber- 
ality in  the  promotion  of  the  Sabbath  school 
work. 

Resolved,  That  cherishing  his  good  name  as  a 
precious  legacy,  we  will,  God  helping,  go  for- 
ward in  the  work  to  which  for  more  than  half 
a  century  he  gave  himself  with  such  unselfish 
devotion. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  widow  and 
relatives  of  our  beloved  brother  deceased,  our 
loving  sympathy,  and  pray  that  the  consolations 
of  Christ  may  be  abundantly  ministered  to  them 
in  this  hour  of  their  trial. 

Also,  Resolved,  subsequently,  that  an  engrossed 
copy  of  the  above  He  presented  to  the  family  of 


120  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

the  deceased  ;  and,  also,  that  they  be  read  as  far 
as  possible  by  the  Superintendents  to  all  the  Sab- 
bath schools  of  the  State. 

True  extract  from  the  Minutes. 

GEO.  A.  PELTZ, 

President. 
Attest — I.  Newton  Baker, 

Secretary  of  the  Fourth  Annual  Convention 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Sabbath  School  Association. 

Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
June  3,  1868. 


Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Trustees  of  the 
Polytechnic  College  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Polytech- 
nic College  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  held  on 
the  third  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1868,  the  follow- 
ing Preamble  and  Resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted. 

Whereas,  By  the  recent  decease  of  Matthew 
Newkirk,  Esq.,  the  distinguished  President  of 
the  College  since  its  organization,  A.  D.   1853, 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK.  121 

this  Board  feel  that  they  have  lost  a  most  active 
and  efficient  colleague,  and  the  community  a 
kind,  laborious,  and  generous  friend ;  therefore, 
be  it 

Resolved,  That  by  his  demise  not  only  has  the 
College  been  deprived  of  one  of  its  earliest,  most 
zealous,  and  most  liberal  supporters,  but  the  cause 
of  technical  and  industrial  education  of  an  appre- 
ciative, earnest,  and  devoted  advocate. 

Resolved,  That  by  his  demise  an  indefatigable 
and  illustrious  co-operator  has  been  taken  from 
and  lost  to  the  founders  and  friends  of  the  Public 
Improvements  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  sister 
States. 

Resolved,  further,  That  Prof.  Alfred  L.  Ken- 
nedy, M.  D.,  and  the  Secretary  of  this  Board  be 
and  hereby  are  appointed  a  Committee  to  tender 
the  bereaved  widow  and  family  of  the  deceased, 
the  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  of  this  Board 
in  their  affliction,  and  also  to  present  them  with 
a  suitable  copy  of  this,  and  the  foregoing  Reso- 
lutions. 

JOHN  McINTYRE, 

Secretary  of  the  Board. 


122  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Trustees  and 
Managers  of  the  Camden  Home  for  Friendless 
Children. 

Whereas,  We  are  called  upon  to  consider  the 
sad  event  of  the  death  of  Matthew  Newkirk, 
Esq.,  which  occurred  on  last  Sabbath  evening, 
the  31st  ult. : 

And  Whereas,  he  was  an  honored  and  beloved 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  for  the 
first  two  years  after  the  organization  of  the 
Home,  its  earnest  and  efficient  presiding  officer; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  reverently  submit  to 
and  acknowledge  the  dispensation  which  has 
taken  by  death  our  revered  and  highly  esteemed 
friend  and  associate,  Matthew  Newkirk,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  our  duty  and  privilege  to  give  ex- 
pression to  our  unfeigned  sorrow  in  the  bereave- 
ment which  we  have  been  called  to  experience. 

Resolved,  That  while  humbly  acquiescing  in 
God's  righteous  providence  in  the  removal  of 
one  of  our  number  so  influential  for  good,  it  is 
also  a  proper  time  to  give  expression  to  our 
gratitude  that  we  were  permitted  to  enjoy  his 


MATTHEW  NEWKIRK. 


I23 


wise  and  hearty  co-operation  in  the  organization 
and  successful  establishment  of  this  Institution. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  and  sincerely  sym- 
pathize with  Mrs.  Newkirk  in  her  sad  bereave- 
ment, and  invoke  on  her  behalf  Divine  conso- 
lation and  the  abiding  assurance  that  her 
Heavenly  Father  will,  through  all  of  life's 
future  journey,  sustain  and  cheer  her  with  His 
presence  and  love. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  Minute,  properly 
engrossed  and  signed,  be  presented  to  Mrs.  New- 
kirk. 

Unanimously  adopted  in  Special  Joint  Meet- 


ing, 


June  6,  1868. 

Signed    by  the    Board    of  Trustees  and    the 
Board  of  Managers. 


